Sid Fleischman, who won the 1987 Newbery Medal for The Whipping Boy,
died March 17 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., at the age of 90. The cause
was cancer, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Best
known as a fiction writer for children, Fleischman started out as a
magician, as he detailed in his autobiography for young people, The
Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life, an experience which also served as
fodder for his biography of Harry Houdini, Escape! The Story of The
Great Houdini. Most recently, he wrote The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life
of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West, and his biography of Charlie
Chaplin, Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest
Man in the World, will be published this June. When asked in an interview with School Library
Journal if his background as a magician helped him as a writer, he answered,
"Magic is like a three-act play. You have to plan ahead; you have to
look around corners. Inventing tricks is like plotting a novel. If you
decide you want to make something float, you have to figure out, 'How
do I do that?' [As a result,] my plots are more generous with their
surprises."
A veteran of World War II and a screenwriter
(including Lafayette Escadrille, featuring a young Clint Eastwood),
Fleischman leaves a legacy of more than 50 books. He was a founding
member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and
served on its board since its inception in 1972. In 2003, SCBWI named
an award for him that honors humorous writing for children. Fleischman
and his son, Paul, have the distinction of being the only father-son
pair to have won a Newbery Medal (Paul Fleishman won the 1989 Newbery
Medal for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices).
A memorial
service will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations
can be made to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles or the American
Cancer Society.