Award-winning Author Avi Visits Denver Academy

An award-winning author of books for children and young adults, Avi has had a relationship with Denver Academy for 20 years. When he initially visited DA, he told me he was interested in our school of diverse learners because he is a diverse learner himself. After struggling in school and being discouraged by his parents when he said he wanted to become a writer, he set out as a young man to prove them wrong. He has, in spades. 

Some of the 80+ books he’s published (many of them books he read and edited pre-publication with Denver Academy classes) have won the Newbery Award, have been published in many different languages, and have been optioned for films.

 

His message to our kids is that if you want something badly enough and if you work hard enough, you can achieve your dreams. One of the 6^thgraders, Roman, summed up Avi’s visit by saying, “What did I learn from Avi? I learned not to give up.”