A Beginning, A Muddle, And An End: The Right Way to Write Writing

A laugh-out-loud marvelous sequel to The End of the Beginning from Newbery medalist Avi.

Alan Review

Avi continues the adventures of Avon the snail and Edward the ant in order to explore the process of writing and becoming a writer. Part fable, part Alice in Wonderland, a Beginning, a Muddle, and an End attempts to express wisdom about writing through the confusion that results from the characters' misunderstandings of concepts of writing. For example, when Avon declares, I've always thought that it would be best to keep my writing on the light side, Edward replies, Writing in the dark is harder. The entire book is a series (a muddle, perhaps) of similar explorations and insights, covering spelling, punctuation, and so on. And while the book exploits the genre conventions of children's literature, writers of all ages will appreciate the understanding Avon and Edward uncover through their discussions. In fact, the individual chapters could serve as springboards to serious discussions of the writing process by adolescent and adult writing classes and writing groups. Reviewer: F. Todd Goodson