Avi can’t be pigeonholed except to say that he is a children’s author who can’t be defined easily. He has written books in many styles including “City of Light, City of Dark,” which looks and reads like a comic book; “Who Was That Masked Man Anyway?,” written all in dialogue and “Poppy,” which is an animal tale.
One way to classify Avi is to say that he’s good at what he does (he has received more than 90 awards for his writing, including two Newbery Honors) because he knows how to find the perfect union of story and style.
“There is a certain technique to writing and that is your instrument,” explains Avi, “and the songs that you sing are the things that you feel, and you play them through the instrument and each one shapes the other.”
For a long time, Avi has been wanting to write a long book, but he worried that children wouldn’t read it–until he discovered they were reading books by Michael Crichton and Stephen King. So he set out to write a fast-paced Victorian-style novel with many chapters–some as short as one page–and lots of suspenseful, cliff-hanger endings. The “song” that Avi has chosen to “sing” in this two-part saga “Beyond the Western Sea” tells about two Irish children and an English boy in the 19th Century who sail to America. It’s a theme that is the common denominator of our country. “Unless you are Native American,” says Avi, “emigration is one of the fundamental stories that we or our forebears all share.”
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Avi, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Anderson’s Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville, 630-355-2665; 2 p.m. Saturday, Borders, Lake Cook and Waukegan Roads, Deerfield, free, 847-559-1999.
A lot of exotic amphibians have found a friendly habitat at the Shedd Aquarium since the “Frogs!” exhibit opened in May. This weekend some of their friends and relatives will come to visit.
On Saturday and Sunday, people who belong to the Chicago Herpetological Society will be bringing bearded dragons, geckos, Burmese pythons, rock iguanas, skinks and leopard tortoises and other members of the amphibian and reptilian families to the Aquarium’s Aquatic Science Center.
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Herpetological Weekend, noon-3 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, $10 adults, $8 children– which includes admission to the Aquarium, Oceanarium and “Frogs!” exhibit; through Dec. 31; 312-939-2438.
During “Celebracion ’96” at the Field Museum children will be able to dig in the dirt with ancient tools used by farmers in the Andes Mountains, and grind corn and learn about the complicated chemical process that goes into making tortillas.They also will use a surveyor’s level like the one used by the Incas to construct miles and miles of irrigation canals.
“The museum wants to demonstrate that these were not backward cultures, but ones that in their time had very well-developed, elaborate technologies,” says Dan Brinkmeier, who coordinated the activities.
The event also includes several performances culminating with the Gingarte Capoeira Club, whose artistry combines acrobatic kicks and self-defense moves to the percussive sound of drums.
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“Celebracion ’96” activities and performances, 11 a.m.-3 p.m Saturday, Field Museum, Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, $5 adults, $3 children; 312-922-9410 ext. 497.
Members of the administrative staff of the DuPage Children’s Museum have moved to another building and the space where their offices once stood has been taken over by some new hands-on exhibits. Children and parents now will be able to make their imprint on a new pin wall that is 6 feet tall, put interchangeable parts together to make their own puppets and work together to assemble pipes and chimes and cranks and gears to build a giant roller coaster for brightly colored golf balls.
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DuPage Children’s Museum, 1777 S. Blanchard Rd., Wheaton, $4; 630-260-9907.
FRIDAY
TOYS AROUND THE WORLD: 1-3 p.m., Chicago Children’s Museum, 700 E. Grand Ave., Navy Pier, $5; 312-527-1000.
SATURDAY
FIESTA PARA TODOS: Featuring activities and performances, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Satuday and Sunday, Brookfield Zoo, First Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield, $5.50 adults, $2.50 children; 708-485-0263, ext. 328.
SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN COSTUME EXHIBITION AND SALE: 11:30 a.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Kohl Children’s Museum, 165 Green Bay Rd., Wilmette, $4; 847-256-6056.
SUNDAY
MARK WEINER’S “WEINERVILLE”: 2 p.m., Star Plaza Theatre, I-65 and U.S. Hwy. 30, Merrillville, Ind., $14; 312-734-7266.
NATIVE AMERICAN SONGS AND DANCES: 1:30 p.m., Children’s Museum of Oak Park, 809 W. Lake St., $3; 708-524-2275.
