Avi is the 2003 Newbery Medal award winning author of Crispin: A Cross of Lead, and widely acclaimed for his works of historical fiction for middle grade readers. In this exclusive video interview with Reading Rockets, Avi talks about the challenges of writing, his years as a librarian, and his symptoms of dyslexia. He also recalls what it was like to win the 2003 Newbery Medal in this engaging and wide-ranging conversation.

Norman Bridwell could never have guessed at the world-wide phenomenon that Clifford the Big Red Dog would become. In this exclusive video interview with Reading Rockets, Norman Bridwell talks about writing and illustrating Clifford and the big dog’s success in books and on television.