Avi's City of Orphans Contest

Attention students, teachers, and librarians: Check out this news from Winding Oak about an awesome Avi contest!

Children’s book author Avi, winner of a Newbery Award and multiple Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards among his many other high honors, is hosting an “American Idol” style video contest for young readers in fourth through ninth grade. The videos are to be inspired by Avi’s 2011 title City of Orphans (Richard Jackson Books), which has already garnered multiple starred reviews in journals such as Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews.

Any teacher or librarian is eligible to submit a City of Orphans video for a student or classroom in fourth through ninth grade. Options include formats such as live action, documentary-style, readers’ theater, costumed theater, and book trailers; the format is not as important as the entrants’ demonstration of creativity and their interpretation of City of Orphans.

An online voting process will help determine the winners, who will receive prizes ranging from an in-person visit and lunch with Avi (one Grand Prize) to Skype visits by Avi (nine Finalists). Five contest voters are eligible to win autographed copies of City of Orphans. Video submissions begin on Avi’s website or Avi’s Facebook page on March 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012. Videos will be shown on Avi’s website and Facebook page so that online visitors have the opportunity to vote on their favorites during the month of April 2012. The winners will be announced on May 7, 2012 at noon.

Kirkus Reviews gave City of Orphans, the latest of Avi’s over seventy titles for young readers, high praise in their starred review: “An immigrant family tries to survive crime, poverty and corruption in 1893 New York City. …Heroic deeds, narrow escapes, dastardly villains, amazing coincidences and a family rich in love and hope are all part of an intricate and endlessly entertaining adventure. Terrific!”

The idea of an online contest was inspired by the popularity of Avi’s Skype classroom visits. “Because of the technology now available, I’m able to interact directly with more of my readers than ever before,” says the author, whose first book was published in 1970. “Kids have tremendous insights about my books; they always ask great questions. This contest is a way to continue that dialogue by inviting them to demonstrate how one of my books has inspired them to be creative.”

Downloadable discussion and reading guides are available at http://www.Avi-writer.com for educators who want to use the book in their classroom. A poster is downloadable for schools, libraries, and local bookstores can post to encourage online voting.

Complete contest details are available at http://www.avi-writer.com or Avi’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Avi/216078981815167