Acting Out [Paperback]

Avi (Author), Susan Cooper (Author), Sharon Creech (Author), Patricia MacLachlan (Author), Katherine Paterson (Author), Richard Peck (Author)

Book Description

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–8—This collection includes selections by Avi, Sharon Creech, Susan Cooper, Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Paterson, and Richard Peck. Each play was inspired by a theater-improv game in which the authors started with the selection of a single word. The pieces all include the following words: "dollop," "hoodwink," "Justin," "knuckleball," "panhandle," and "raven." Part of the fun is in seeing how these playwrights incorporate them into their stories. Most are humorous, and they all have many young characters. Production requirements range from easy to difficult. An engaging choice for literature and acting classes as well as general reading.—Terrilyn Fleming, Colby Public Schools, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Avi is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults, including the 2003 Newbery medal winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. He has won two Newbery Honors and many other awards for his fiction. He lives with his family in Denver, Colorado. Visit him on the Web at www.avi-writer.com.

Susan Cooper, one of today's most distinguished children's book writers, won a Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor for books in her fantasy sequence, The Dark is Rising. She is also the author of King of Shadows, a Boston Globe -- Horn Book Honor Book, and Green Boy, which was called "an intriguing and truly lovely book" by the New York Times Book Review. She lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, and her Web site is at www.thelostland.com.

Patricia MacLachlan is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; and Three Names, illustrated by Alexander Pertzoff. She lives in western Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416938494
• ISBN-13: 978-1416938491
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,109,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( C ) > Cooper, Susan
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( A ) > Avi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, July 16, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Out (Hardcover)

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"

3.0 out of 5 stars Lights, camera, act!, May 1, 2011

By 

Heidi G - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Out (Paperback)

This collection of one-act plays, written by six winners of the Newbery Medal, will appeal to middle school students enrolled in a beginning drama class. My favorite is Sharon Creech's "The Bad Room," which revolves around students in detention; it reminds me a bit of the 1985 movie, "The Breakfast Club." One interesting spin is that each author was asked to choose a word to use in his/her play; all six words chosen were then used in each play. Students will recognize the names of the authors, making it more likely to draw them into the plays.

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but not the greatest, January 22, 2011

By 

bargainshopper - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Acting Out (Hardcover)

The scripts in this book are fun, but definitely not great literature. I was hoping to find some scripts that would be easy and fun for middle schoolers. These plays were obviously geared toward a beginner audience, but in the end they were too simple and my students were not excited by them.