SID FLEISCHMAN

Born in Brooklyn, Albert Sidney (Sid) Fleischman (1920- ), grew up in San Diego during the Great Depression. He decided to become a magician in fifth grade and performed on the vaudeville circuit. Fleischman served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II and later attended San Diego State College (now University), from which he graduated in 1949. After college, he became a reporter for the San Diego Daily Journal. The paper ceased publication in 1950, and Fleischman decided to write fiction instead, focusing on novels and screenplays. Fleischman later became a children’s book author because he wanted to explain his livelihood to his own children.

Sid Fleischman, pictured in the 1949 edition of Del Sudoeste, the San Diego State College yearbook

He has written more than 35 children’s books, ranging from his tall tales about the McBroom family to his most recent, Disappearing Act. His novel The Whipping Boy won the distinguished 1987 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association; it has been adapted into both a motion picture and a musical. Fleischman’s son writer and poet Paul Fleischman also won a Newbery award for his book Joyful Noise. Sid Fleischman lives in Santa Monica, California.

Three works by Sid Fleischman: Lauter wahre Lugengeschicten von McBrooms Wunderfarm (Stuttgart, Germany: Union Verlag, 1974), the German translation of McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm; Jingo Django (Paris: L'ecole des Loisirs, 1998), the French translation of the book originally published in English under the same title in 1971; and Havsogelset og soroverskatten (Haslev, Denmark: Gyldendal, 1997), the Danish version of The 13th Floor: A Ghost Story, first published in 1995. Also featured: Del Sudoeste (San Diego, Calif.: Associated Students of San Diego State College, 1949).

A sample of six novels by Sid Fleischman: The Whipping Boy (New York: Troll Associates, 1987), recipient of the 1987 John Newbery Medal, awarded by the American Library Association; Avontuur in Californie (Haarlem, The Netherlands: N.V. Uitgeverij De Spaarnestad, Terrier-jeugpocket, 1965), the Dutch version of By the Great Horn Spoon!, originally published in 1963 and turned into the 1965 Walt Disney film The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin; Un Maggiordomo Nel Far West (Milan, Italy: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1972), the Italian version of By the Great Horn Spoon!; Jingo Django: Viaje Con Un Desconocido (Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones, S.A., 1999), the Spanish-language version of Jingo Django; By the Great Horn Spoon! Japanese translation rights arranged through Kaigai Hyoron Sha, Tokyo.