Sid Fleischman has written dozens of books for children, and each one is crafted carefully with vivid detail and expressive language. Fleischman knows that a great children’s book will live with readers for a long, long time and he wants to get it right. It took him more than 10 years and several false starts to complete his Newbery-winning book, The Whipping Boy. His ideas can spring from just about anywhere — his time travel story, The 13th Floor, was inspired by the superstitious fear of the number thirteen (triskaidekaphobia). Often, his stories hint at the possibility of magic in our lives, not surprising for someone who once toured as a professional magician.
