Acting Out

By Avi and Sharon Creech

Book Overview

With a star-studded lineup of writers, there's a stage full of drama, comedy, and great storytelling waiting behind these curtains Sharon Creech spoofs a publishing office in The Raven , and the environment fights back against overdevelopment in Susan Cooper's The Dollop . Patricia MacLachlan puts a twist on detention in The Bad Room , and Katherine Paterson revives a classic fairy tale in The Billionaire and the Bird . Richard Peck has schoolboys doing their best to trick a spooky substitute in Effigy in the Outhouse , and Avi's Not Seeing Is Believing has words playing tricks on everybody. There's something for everyone in this all-star lineup.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416938494
• ISBN13: 9781416938491
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

What happens when you ask six Newbery Award winners to write one-act plays? Well, you get a book like ACTING OUT, and you get the potential for a lot of fun. Award-winning authors Avi, Susan Cooper, Sharon Creech, Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Paterson, and Richard Peck were asked to write one-act plays. They were given the freedom to write about anything, but there was one catch. Each author picked a word which was to be used in all six plays. The words chosen were dollop, hoodwink, Justin, knuckleball, panhandle, and raven. Their creative efforts are a pleasure to read. The subjects of the plays include school topics like the detention room and a scary substitute, a mysterious voice, a moving, talking giant rock, a childhood Edgar A. Poe, and a selfish billionaire. Each script includes stage directions, character descriptions, and production hints. ACTING OUT is successful as a casual reading experience as well as for its potential for actual staged performances. Readers will appreciate seeing a different side of some of their favorite Newbery authors. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"