Middle School
Worksheets
Paul Fleischman
American writer Paul Fleischman was born in 1952 and grew up in Santa Monica, California. Becoming a writer wasn't his childhood dream, despite growing up with a father who was a writer. In fact, his father, Sid Fleischman, would read his own books aloud as he completed each chapter. Sid Fleischman won a Newbery Medal for his book, The Whipping Boy. Many of the interests young Paul had as a child, as well as his childhood experiences, would later come to life in his own books, and he also earned a Newbery Medal like his father did.
As a young adult, Fleischman began his education at Berkeley. After two years of college, at the age of nineteen, Fleischman went on a cross-country bicycle and train trip. He eventually ended up in New Hampshire where he lived in a house that was two hundred years old. The lifestyle he led was modified 18th century, with no phone, no electricity, and a wood heating stove. The years Fleischman spent in the house stirred up in him an interest in the past. This ultimately led to his books of historical fiction, many set in New England.
In the end, Fleischman returned to college and graduated from the University of New Mexico. He worked at numerous jobs such as a library shelver, a bookstore clerk, and a proofreader. Fleischman founded two grammar watchdog groups: ColonWatch and The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to English. He considered becoming a teacher, but he ultimately decided to teach through books. Fleischman's books have covered such topics as the Puritans' Indian wars, Philadelphia's yellow fever epidemic, and the Civil War.
