Paul Fleischman Biography

Paul Fleischman loves researching "out-of-the-way corners of American history", and he incorporates many interesting and little-known historical facts into his fiction. He says that he reads randomly and voraciously in hopes of uncovering ideas for his stories, but that he often discovers them accidentally while poking around in libraries and used book stores.

Fleischman also loves music. He says, "If only I could write music I'd give up writing books in an instant." He combines his passion for music with his literary talentsthrough the sound of words. He reports that he spends more time tinkering with the harmony of the sounds involved in composing a story than with figuring out the sense of it. For his recognition of the importance of "a story's sound shape," he gives credit to the many pleasurable hours spent during his childhood listening to his father, author Sid Fleischman, read drafts of his writings.

Fleischman was born on September 5, 1952, in Monterey, California, was brought up in Santa Monica, and lives in Pacific Grove. He attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He has worked in libraries and bookstores, as well as a bagel baker, and an editorial proofreader. Fleischman's father characterizes his middle child as witty and intelligent, and reports that Paul's fascination with music began early and that he was able to excel in school with very little effort. In 1978 Fleischman married Becky Mojica, a registered nurse; they have two children, Dana and Seth.

In addition to the prestigious Newbery Award in 1989 for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, his novel, Graven Images, was a 1983 Newbery Honor Book; Path of the Pale Horse was a 1983 Golden Kite Award Honor Book; and The Half-a-Moon-Inn was a 1981 Golden Kite Award Honor Book and received the 1980 Commonwealth Club of California Award.

Because his father is a noted author of children's books, one might assume that Paul Fleischman grew up wanting to follow in his footsteps, but he did not seriously entertain the thought of a writing career until he was in college. Nevertheless, it is clear that he had a creative spirit from the time he was a child. Paul Fleischman was born September 5, 1952 in Monterey, California. His mother, Beth Taylor Fleischman, was a homemaker. His father, Albert Sidney Fleischman—known professionally as Sid Fleischman—was the highly esteemed author of many classic children's books, including The Ghost in the Noonday Sun, Chancey and the Grand Rascal , and the "McBroom" series of tall tales. Although Paul was not a reader, he absorbed an understanding of...