Thursday, May 20, 2010

Sid Fleischman 1920-2010


One of my favorite children's authors passed away on March 17th. Sid Fleischman was 90 years old and had written a dearth of books. Known to practically every middle schooler in the country, Fleischman's "The Whipping Boy" won the prestigious Newbery Award in 1987 . Sid Fleischman really knew how children's minds work and wrote his books to captivate and entice them.

Why not take some time and revisit "The Whipping Boy" once again? In case you have forgotten or never have read this book, here is a synopsis: this is the story of a poor boy, Jemmy, who is drafted to take the punishment for the spoiled prince because, after all, no harm shall befall a member of royalty (even if he really needs a spanking.) Prince Horace demands that Jemmy shout or cry while being punished but Jemmy has too much pride. When the prince decides to runaway, he drags along poor Jemmy. But Jemmy was raised on those mean streets and, in the end, Jemmy is the one who saves the prince from himself and others.

There are many other books by Fleishman I'm sure you'll enjoy, the latest being "The Dream Stealer" that can be found in our new book section. Goodbye and thank you, Mr. Fleischman!

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