Avi's writings have a lot to do with his own life experiences. He was born in New York City on December 23, 1937 with his twin sister, the one who started calling him Avi for unknown reasons. Now Avi is the only name he uses.

When he was in school, Avi's writing was thought to need tutoring. One of his English teachers gave him the help he needed. Once his writing had improved, he was 17 years old and decided to become a writer. At first he wrote horrible plays, and it wasn't until he had his eldest son, Shaun, that he started writing for children. His first book was published in 1970. Since then, he's published over 30 more books.

One of his recently published books, Never Mind! is about two twins, a boy and a girl, and how one was so much better than the other, until...