Paul Fleischman
Encyclopedia
Paul Fleischman is an American author of children's books. Both he and his father, children's author Sid Fleischman
, have won the Newbery Medal
. Paul is the 2012 US author nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award
.
. The experience led to his historical fiction
dealing with the Puritans' Indian wars
, colonial peddlers, Philadelphia's yellow fever
epidemic, and the Civil War
. 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.
, the 50-voice aural collage Seek, the seven-plays-in-one Zap, and the joined Cinderella
variants in Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal. The importance of history, community, art, and imagination have been frequent themes in his work.
Fleischman won the Newbery Medal
for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
in 1989. He's received a National Book Award nomination for Breakout in 2003, a Newbery Honor for Graven Images in 1983, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for Bull Run (1994), the California Young Reader Medal for Weslandia (2002), Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors for Joyful Noise and Saturnalia, the PEN USA Literary Award for The Dunderheads (2010), awards from the Commonwealth Club and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and is the United States' 2012 author nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award.
Sid Fleischman
Albert Sidney Fleischman , pen name Sid Fleischman, was a Newbery Medal-winning author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and books on magic. His works for children are known for their humor, imagery, zesty plotting, and exploration of the byways of American history...
, have won the Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
. Paul is the 2012 US author nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award
Hans Christian Andersen Award
The Hans Christian Andersen Award, sometimes known as the "Nobel Prize for children's literature", is an international award given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature"...
.
Early life
Paul Fleischman was born in Monterey, CA and raised in Santa Monica, CA. At 19, he took a cross-country bicycle and train trip which ended with him living in a 200-year-old house in New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. The experience led to his historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
dealing with the Puritans' Indian wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, colonial peddlers, Philadelphia's yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic, and the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. 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, chamber music for speaking voices. Multiple points of view have been a hallmark of his fiction, beginning with Bull Run (1993), the first of the many multiple-viewpoint novels to be published for children. This format was further explored in SeedfolksSeedfolks
-External links:* * http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Seedfolks/?isbn=9780064472074...
, the 50-voice aural collage Seek, the seven-plays-in-one Zap, and the joined Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
variants in Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal. The importance of history, community, art, and imagination have been frequent themes in his work.
Fleischman won the Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices is Paul Fleischman's Newbery Medal-winning book for the year 1989.The book is a collection of fourteen children's poems about insects such as mayflies, lice, and honeybees. The concept is unusual in that the poems are intended to be read aloud by two people...
in 1989. He's received a National Book Award nomination for Breakout in 2003, a Newbery Honor for Graven Images in 1983, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for Bull Run (1994), the California Young Reader Medal for Weslandia (2002), Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors for Joyful Noise and Saturnalia, the PEN USA Literary Award for The Dunderheads (2010), awards from the Commonwealth Club and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and is the United States' 2012 author nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award.