Paul Fleischman (born 1952) is an American writer of children's books. He and his father Sid Fleischman have both won the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". For the body of his work he was the United States author nominee for the international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 2012.

Early life

Paul Fleischman was born in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

and raised in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, the son of children's book author Sid Fleischman. At 19, he took a cross-country bicycle and train trip which ended with him living in a 200-year-old house in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The experience led to his

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

dealing with the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

Indian wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

, colonial peddlers,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's yellow fever epidemic, and the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

.Linda M. Pavonetti. "Paul Fleischman: A Partner in Celebrating Language and Reading". ''Journal of Children's Literature'' 29:2 (Fall 2003), p. 86. He attended college at University of California Berkeley and the University of New Mexico. Before writing full-time, he worked as a bagel baker, library shelver, bookstore clerk, and proofreader, the last leading to his grammar watchdog groups Colonwatch and The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to English.

Career

Fleischman's first books were written while he was still in college, inspired by his reading of folklore. His musical interests are reflected in his collections of poems for two and four speakers, so-called

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

for speaking voices. Multiple points of view have been a hallmark of his fiction, beginning with '' Bull Run'' (1993), one of the first multiple-viewpoint novels published for children. This format was further explored in '' Seedfolks'', the 50-voice aural collage ''Seek'', the seven-plays-in-one ''Zap'', and the joined

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

variants in ''Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal''. The importance of history, community, art, and imagination have been frequent themes in his work.

Awards

Fleischman won the 1989

for '' Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices'', only two years after his father won it for '' The Whipping Boy''. ''Graven Images'' received a Newbery Honor award in 1983. He won a

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

nomination for ''Breakout'' in 2003,Kathryn McKenzie Nichols, "Child's Play", Monterey County (CA) ''Herald'', November 17, 2003, p. D-1. the 1994

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is an annual American children's book award that recognizes historical fiction. It was established in 1982 by Scott O'Dell, author of ''Island of the Blue Dolphins'' and 25 other children's books, in ho ...

for ''Bull Run'', the 2002 California Young Reader Medal for ''Weslandia'',

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The ''Boston Globe''–''Horn'' Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonficti ...

honors for ''Joyful Noise'' and ''Saturnalia'', the

PEN Center USA PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN International, a literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unified ...

Literary Award for ''The Dunderheads'' (2010), and the Christopher Medal for ''The Matchbox Diary'' (2013). ''Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines'' (2014) was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, received the Green Earth Book Award from The Nature Generation, and won the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award. Paul Fleischman has also won awards from the

Commonwealth Club of California The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to ...

and the

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers ...

. For the body of his work, he was the United States' nominee for the 2012 international

. He also received the Leo Politi Golden Author Award given by California Readers in 2005 and the Horace Mann Upstanders Lifetime Achievement Award given by Antioch University in 2014.

Works

For adults

* "Swat Radio", ''The New Yorker'' (November 24, 1997) * ''A Book: Literary & Visual Musings on the Letter A'' ontributor ''The Scribes'' 8 (1997) * ''Logomaniacs'' (2010), play * ''He Walked Among Us'' (New York: Argo Navis, 2012), novel ; Articles * "Sound and Sense", ''

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietors of t ...

'' (September/October 1986) * "Sid Fleischman", ''Horn Book'' (July/August 1987) * "Paul Fleischman", ''Something About the Author Autobiography Series'', Vol. 20, pp. 219–31 * "The Accidental Artist", ''School Library Journal'' (March 1999)

For children

; Picture books * ''The Birthday Tree'' (1979, 2008) * ''The Animal Hedge'' (1983, 2003) * ''Rondo in C'' (1988) * ''Shadow Play'' (1990) * ''Time Train'' (1991) * '' Weslandia'' (1999) * ''Lost: A Story in String'' (2000) * ''Sidewalk Circus'' (2004) * ''Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella'' (2007) * ''The Dunderheads'' (2009) * ''The Dunderheads Behind Bars'' (2012) * ''The Matchbox Diary'' (2013) * ''First Light, First Life: A Worldwide Creation Story'' (2016) * ''Fearsome Giant, Fearless Child: A Worldwide Jack and the Beanstalk Story'' (2019) * ''The Class With Wings'' (2024) ; Younger fiction * ''Half-A-Moon Inn'' (1980) * ''Finzel The Farsighted'' (1983), illustrated by Marcia Sewall * ''Phoebe Danger, Detective'' (1983) ; Short stories * '' Graven Images'' (1982, 2006), collection * ''Coming-and-Going Men'' (1985), collection ; Plays * '' Mind's Eye'' (1999) * ''Zap'' (2005) ; Poetry * ''I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices'' (1985) * '' Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices'' (1988) * ''Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices'' (2000) ; Novels * ''Path of the Pale Horse'' (1983) * ''Rear-View Mirrors'' (1986) * ''Saturnalia'' (1990) * ''The Borning Room'' (1991) * '' Bull Run'' (1993) * '' A Fate Totally Worse than Death'' (1995) * '' Seedfolks'' (1997) * ''

Whirligig A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one part that spins or whirls. It can also be a Pinwheel (toy), pinwheel, Top (toy), spinning top, buzzer, comic weathervane, gee-haw, spinner, whirlygig, whirlijig, whirlyjig, whirl ...

'' (1998) * ''Seek'' (2001) * ''Breakout'' (2003) ; Nonfiction * ''Townsend's Warbler'' (1992) * ''Copier Creations'' (1993) * ''Dateline: Troy'' (1996, 2006) * "Interview with a Shrimp", ''When I Was Your Age, Vol. Two'' (1999) * ''Cannibal in the Mirror'' (2000) * '' Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines'' (2014) * ''No Map, Great Trip: A Young Writer's Road to Page One'' (2019) * ''Alphamaniacs: Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word'' (2020)

References

External links

* * *
Paul Fleischman's matchbox theaters

Paul Fleischman's kinetic toys

Paul Fleischman's ''Football and Fossil Fuels: Vested Interests in Action''

''On Beyond Grammar: My Defense of the Arts''''Alphamaniacs'' book launch zoom with Melissa Sweet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischman, Paul 1952 births American children's writers Newbery Medal winners Newbery Honor winners Writers from Santa Monica, California Writers from Atlanta Novelists from New Hampshire Living people Date of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American poets American male novelists American male poets American male dramatists and playwrights People from Monterey, California 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) American children's poets