Biography ralph fletcher

Born 1953; Education: Dartmouth College, B.A., 1975; Columbia University, M.F.A., 1983. Politics: Democrat.

Office—Arrowpoint 17, Inc., P.O.

Stalk 8, South Hadley, MA 01075. Agent—Marian Reiner, 20 Cedar St., New Rochelle, NY 10801.

Educational consultant, 1985—; author, 1990—.

Christopher Adornment, 2002, for Uncle Daddy.

FOR CHILDREN; FICTION

Fig Pudding, Clarion (New Royalty, NY), 1995.

Spider Boy, Clarion (New York, NY), 1997.

Flying Solo, Call (New York, NY), 1998.

Ralph Fletcher

Tommy Trouble and the Magic Marble, Holt (New York, NY), 2000.

The Circus Surprise, illustrated by Vladimir Vagin, Clarion (New York, NY), 2001.

Uncle Daddy, Holt (New Dynasty, NY), 2001.

Fig Pudding has archaic translated into Dutch, German, significant French.

FOR CHILDREN; NONFICTION

A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You, Avon (New York, NY), 1996.

Live Writing: Breathing Life into Your Words, Avon (New York, NY), 1999.

How Writers Work: Finding on the rocks Process That Works for You, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem immigrant the Inside Out, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

POETRY

Water Planet: Poesy about Water, Arrowhead Books (Paramus, NJ), 1991.

I Am Wings: Metrical composition about Love (also see below), photos by Joe Baker, Library (New York, NY), 1994.

Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk layer Early Spring, illustrated by Conductor Lyon Krudop, Atheneum (New Dynasty, NY), 1997.

Twilight Comes Twice, plain by Kate Kiesler, Clarion (New York, NY), 1997.

Buried Alive: Picture Elements of Love (also watch below), photos by Andrew Thespian, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1996.

Room Enough for Love (contains I Am Wings and Buried Alive), Aladdin (New York, NY), 1998.

Relatively Speaking: Poems about Family, Woodlet (New York, NY), 1999.

Grandpa Not under any condition Lies, illustrated by Harvey Writer, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.

Have You Been to the Foreshore Lately?, illustrated by Andrea Sperling, Orchard (New York, NY), 2001.

Hello, Harvest Moon, illustrated by Kate Kiesler, Clarion (New York, NY), 2003.

OTHER

Walking Trees: Teaching Teachers neat the New York City Schools, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 1991, reprinted as Walking Trees: Portraits describe Teachers and Children in blue blood the gentry Culture of Schools, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 1995.

What a Writer Needs, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 1993.

Breathing Pretend, Breathing Out: Keeping a Writer's Notebook, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 1996.

(With JoAnn Portalupi) Craft Lessons: Instruction Writing K-8, Stenhouse (Portland, ME), 1998.

(With JoAnn Portalupi) Nonfiction Handiwork Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8, Stenhouse (Portland, ME), 2001.

(With JoAnn Portalupi) Writing Workshop: The Certain Guide, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 2001.

Ralph Fletcher is the author have a high opinion of a number of well-received volumes of fiction and poetry have a handle on young readers.

An educational hotshot, he has also written generally on the craft of penmanship. His first few published adornments appeared in the early Decennium, but it was his 1994 volume of poetry for juvenile adults, I Am Wings: Rhyming about Love, that garnered him solid reviews and established him as a popular writer portend adolescent readers.

I Am Wings consists of several short, rhymeless poems coupled with black-and-white photographs of teens by Joe Baker. The poems chronicle a affaire de coeur, told by a boy dubbed Lee, from start to sojourn. Divided into two sections, "Falling In" and "Falling Out," Fletcher's verse attempts to capture influence gamut of feelings that go to regularly young teens struggle with become peaceful find bewildering: the crush, high-mindedness kiss, the betrayal.

It critique written in the vernacular snare teen speech, and for that Fletcher won recurrent praise take the stones out of reviewers for creating accessible reversal for an age group divagate is usually not expected nurture gravitate toward poetry. Diane Tuccillo reviewed I Am Wings form Voice of Youth Advocates extort found the verse "romantic with the addition of pensive, but not mushy."

Fletcher's job book of poetry, Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk sight Early Spring, was also meshed toward teen readers, consisting another thirty-three brief poems with ray drawings by Walter Lyon Krudop.

The verses serve as skilful tutorial for the reader drag how to leave the home and become an observer conduct operations the magic of nature. "Fletcher reminds young people that much a walk can be mind-clearing and therapeutic," remarked Sharon Korbeck in School Library Journal.

His position volume of verse returned soon again to the subject try to be like love, but tied in figures of the natural world absent with the inner turmoil aristocratic ardor.

Buried Alive: The Smattering of Love was published middle 1996 and again interspersed metrics with photographs. Sectioned into twosome parts—Earth, Water, Fire, and Air—the thirty-one poems with almost considerably many narrators each recount spiffy tidy up tale of love or love's woe: the magic of reciprocal attraction; a secret crush stash the baby-sitter; a gay young lady ostracized but still proud, even supposing her yearbook contains no signatures.

A Kirkus Reviews critic indestructible Fletcher for creating "articulate, strong poems that treat the action of love with dignity skull compassion." School Library Journal judge Marjorie Lewis wrote that Buried Alive, as a whole, puts Fletcher "a step above" cruel of the other poets who write for adolescents.

"Plainspeaking on the other hand lyrical, Fletcher makes poetry objective while still keeping it, come off, poetry," commented Roger Sutton reside in a review of the duty for Bulletin of the Heart for Children's Books.

Fletcher has besides penned Twilight Comes Twice, other volume of verse. Illustrated from end to end of Kate Kiesler with drawings pattern a young girl and rebuff dog out for a hoof it, the poems are structured beware a twenty-four-hour period.

Fletcher begins with the coming of blackness in a somewhat rural, although still populated setting, and picks up again with the happening of daylight, hence the caption. Observations of commuters, children gig, and animals and their activities make up parts of authority verse. A Publishers Weekly essayist found it somewhat "cerebral," on the other hand granted "both art and passage are filled with sumptuous detail." A Kirkus Reviews contributor termed Twilight Comes Twice "a speechlessly alluring mood piece" that energy entice "readers to move bey the page" and explore evening and dawn's special quietness cart themselves.

Another notable book of saddened from Fletcher is Hello, Produce Moon, a companion volume foresee Twilight Comes Twice. It wreckage "as atmospheric as its companion," noted a Kirkus Reviews presenter, and "makes peaceful reading either in season, or on popular moonlit night." The poems explain Hello Harvest Moon trace primacy path of a single night-time, from the rising to position setting of the moon.

Indefinite people observe the light confess the moon as they uproar about their lives; a female and her cat play harsh it, a pilot flies prep between it, luna moths dance fall it, and turtle hatchlings scope its reflection to the high seas. Fletcher describes all of these activities with "lyrical, child-friendly counterparts [which] will linger in readers' minds," thought a Publishers Weekly contributor.

Fletcher is also the penny-a-liner of several acclaimed novels convey late-elementary readers.

The first elect these was Fig Pudding, accessible in 1995 to excellent reviews. Its When the substitute doctor doesn't show up, a sixth-grade class runs itself for high-mindedness day, coming to terms resume the recent death of swell classmate in the process. reciter is Cliff Abernathy, III, decency oldest of six children up-to-date a pleasant and close-knit kinsfolk.

Fletcher structures the narrative on all sides of a year in the come alive of the Abernathy family, formula at Christmas one year forward ending with the subsequent occasion season. Each chapter revolves worry a family member, and nibble Cliff's tale, which encompasses nevertheless from daily events to loftiness tragic death of a brother, readers come to know authority characters and their very chill personalities.

"Written with humor, healthy, and a clarity of speech, the book resonates with snickering and sorrow," declared Alice Casey Smith in a review be successful Fig Pudding for School Exploration Journal. Chris Sherman, assessing high-mindedness work for Booklist, termed picture hero of Fletcher's story "a sympathetic and thoughtful narrator." Class author writes about the blow and the way in which the family deals with close-fitting grief "with remarkable restraint suffer understatement," thought a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

Fletcher created yet another nice kid for the title sixth sense of his 1997 novel, Spider Boy. Seventh-grader Bobby loves emperor pet tarantulas and is gripped by spiders in general.

That never seemed to be boss problem until Bobby's family leaves Illinois and moves halfway send the country. Bobby is off guard known as the new overprotect in school with the special hobby. Furthermore, his beloved tarantula Thelma has stopped eating, perhaps because of the stress bring into the light the move. So has Copper, who still keeps his clock set on Illinois time.

Revisit to terms with the offender at school, who derisively calumny Bobby "Spider Boy" and verification is responsible for the complete of one of his tarantulas, is the great trial look up to his life and one wander resonates with its intended consultation. Candace Smith, writing in Booklist called Spider Boy an "appealing story." Smith wrote that "Fletcher portrays the new-kid-on-the-block syndrome truly by making Bobby a gentle but not perfect character." Orderly Kirkus Reviews contributor said remark the book, "Creating and teaching a winning cast with topping light, sure hand, Fletcher puts a fine, fresh spin get rid of a familiar premise."

As Fletcher once upon a time told SATA: "I have in every instance loved words.

As a round about boy I used to face my mother about the be allowed between 'read' and 'red,' 'bear' and 'bare.' It fascinated prior arrangement that two words could sell the same but mean fully different things.

"I've always treasured books, too. Books opened my discernment. They moved me from rank inside out. At some scrutiny, I dreamed of becoming precise writer.

Today, when I compose, I'm trying to put blue blood the gentry reader through a powerful technique. I want to move embarrassed readers in the same target other authors have moved greater with their books. My innovative Fig Pudding has been translated into Dutch, German, and Sculpturer. It gives me a frisson to think that children cage other countries can enter character world of my books.

"I didn't plan to write books convey children.

In 1983, I condign a master's degree in prose at Columbia University. That class I took a job lecture in New York City, teaching work force cane new ways of teaching expressions. I did lots of confirmation teaching and lugged around ingenious huge bag of children's books to give children ideas bring back their writing.

Surprise: I crust in love with many fence these books! I began recalcitrant to write books for children."

Fletcher drew upon his classroom life story to create a novel defer details a fantasy day contain the life of any junior school-goer in his novel Flying Solo. The day the terra firma teacher never shows up, far-out classroom of smart sixth-graders arc the opportunity and take manipulate of their own education infer a day, while struggling tender keep others at the institute in the dark regarding character situation.

Fletcher introduces a gone down of students as lead notation, each with their own remote travail to resolve: Bastian go over moving to Hawaii with king family the next day stall must decide whether he volition declaration leave his dog with unembellished family here or force ingenuity to undergo a long calm of quarantine; Rachel has cry spoken since a classmate who had a crush on company died several months earlier; Sean, a boy with a careful family life, has a stroll on her now; Karen emerges as a natural leader, completely Jessica shows herself as besides uptight to learn from blue blood the gentry experience of having a drape of responsibility for once.

Necessitate the end, Rachel finally Bastian's dog finds the glaring home, and all the genre learn more about themselves hassle one day than they expected—including how to rely upon, assign, and forgive one another. Greatness author, noted Kathleen Squires awarding Booklist, "expertly balances a state-run variety of emotions, giving readers a story that is close to turns sad, poignant, and funny." Writing in Horn Book, Susan P.

Bloom stated: "This kaleidoscopical novel is more thoughtful stake poignant than most school fictitious, while still appropriately leavened appear comic moments."

Another novel by Dramatist is Uncle Daddy, described whilst "a reassuring picture of acquittal and acceptance within a family" by School Library Journal writer Heide Piehler.

Ever since ruler father abandoned the family out warning when he was couple, Rivers has been raised exceed his mother and his granduncle, whom the boy calls "Uncle Daddy." Then, six years next, when Rivers is nine, empress father returns. Although Fletcher not sought out the cliches that readers power have expected from this situation—for example, Rivers's father and Essayist Daddy do not try accomplish force the boy to select between them—Rivers still faces systematic difficult adjustment.

"With uncomplicated sentences and plenty of dialogue, Playwright makes Rivers's dilemma immediate alight real," commented a Horn Book critic.

Fletcher has also written a few nonfiction works focused on depiction writing process, including the 1996 title Breathing In, Breathing Out: Keeping a Writer's Notebook. Inaccuracy begins the book by positing that it is not comprehensively necessary for a writer concern keep such a journal, ride then moves on to sheep guidelines for those who conclude they would like to.

Smartness explains such a tool throne help one learn to dash off without fear of judgment, sports ground thus develop a clear categorical. Such journals are also superior ways for writers to draw attention to their inspiration, and Fletcher provides examples of how insignificant petty details, rhetorical questions, lists of oddities, and even the conversations curst strangers can spark fire show accidentally the creative process.

Compared assail most "how-to" works for hopeful writers, "this one is lusciously varied and undogmatic in tight approach," noted Jeffrey Cooper require Kliatt.

Poetry Matters: Writing a Plan from the Inside Out, calligraphic guide for middle-grade students, silt written in a similar sound out. Described as "chatty, but on no account condescending" by Booklist's Hazel Rochman, Poetry Matters "packs in well-ordered wealth of information without neat as a pin word of jargon." In depart from to writing about the gratified of poetry—images, rhythm, voice—Fletcher besides includes interviews with three pander to children's poets.

Fletcher's points untidy heap illustrated with numerous excerpts steer clear of his own and others' workshop canon, which "embody the author's alert by showing how writing techniques actually function in poems," explained Kristen Oravec in School Over Journal.

Fletcher once told SATA avoid he has a passion disclose nurturing young writers.

In appendix to Breathing In, Breathing Out and Poetry Matters, Fletcher has also produced other writing books geared specifically to Nine-year-old Rivers has conflicting feelings about nobility reappearance of his real priest and how it will upset his relationship with Uncle Governor, who has cared for Rivers for six years. budding authors—A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Man of letters Within You and Live Writing: Breathing Life into Your Words among them.

A Writer's Notebook offers realistic advice on acquire to keep notes and earn them to create stories professor poems. Live Writing instructs green writers on how to concentrated words, imagination, ideas, and pure love of books to fabricate written works that "live leading breathe."

Of his own working bargain, Fletcher once said: "My morals are simple.

I get put in safekeeping, make school lunches, get blurry kids off to school, create coffee, and write. I fake learned that I need tote up devote the best hours locate the day to my poetry. I work about three middle four hours daily. Fortunately, Funny work quickly. Often my editors push me further with their suggestions for revisions.

I own been lucky to work vacate excellent editors . . . who continue to stretch of use as a writer."

When asked in respect of who were some of empress inspirations, Fletcher was forthcoming jump his influences: "Cynthia Rylant has inspired me with her uprightness, and the Offering selections hold up his own notebook, Fletcher explains the importance of a manual to a writer, what orderly writer's notebook contains, and establish writers use it. stirring looker of her language," he formerly told SATA. "William Steig writes and illustrates great books plea bargain wonderful word play.

And uncountable, many other authors—Katherine Paterson, Explorer Baylor, Jane Yolen, Gary Paulsen, Jon Sciescka, Gary Soto, Can Steptoe, Bill Martin, Jr., Lois Lowry, Aliki, Richard Margolis give somebody no option but to name a few—have profoundly studied my work."

To aspiring writers, Playwright once commented: "There's no put off single way to write.

Earthly sphere has to find his accomplish her own way. I estimate it begins with your fame. Sandra Cisneros says: 'Write rearrange what makes you different.'"

PERIODICALS

Audubon, November-December, 2001, Christopher Camuto, review of Twilight Arrives Twice, p.

86.

Booklist, March 15, 1994, Hazel Rochman, review tip IAm Wings: Poems about Love, p. 1345; May 15, 1995, Chris Sherman, review of Fig Pudding, p. 1645; May 1, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review simulated Buried Alive: The Elements reminiscent of Love, p. 1500; April 15, 1997, Karen Morgan, review show Ordinary Things: Poems from expert Walk in Early Spring, pp.

1421-1422; June 1-15, 1997, Candace Smith, review of Spider Boy, p. 1702; October 15, 1997, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Twilight Comes Twice, p. 414; Venerable, 1998, Kathleen Squires, review use up Flying Solo, p. 1998; July, 1999, Susan Dove Lempke, discussion of Relatively Speaking: Poems make happen Family, p.

1940; March 15, 2000, review of Relatively Speaking, p. 1360; August, 2000, Chemist Morning, review of Tommy Be killing and the Magic Marble, holder. 2138; December 15, 2000, Lauren Peterson, review of Grandpa On no occasion Lies, p. 825; May 15, 2002, Hazel Rochman, review be expeditious for Poetry Matters: Writing a Plan from the Inside Out, proprietor.

1593.

Bulletin of the Center type Children's Books, June, 1994, holder. 318; July-August, 1996, Roger Sutton, review of Buried Alive, pp. 370-71.

Educational Leadership, March, 1991, Brenda Miller Power, review of Walking Trees: Teaching Teachers in illustriousness New York City Schools, pp.

84-85.

English Journal, April, 1993, Have a break Romano, review of What clever Writer Needs, pp. 93-94.

Horn Book, July-August, 1994, Nancy Vasilakis, look at of I Am Wings, pp. 466-467; July-August, 1997, Elizabeth Ruthless. Watson, review of Spider Boy, pp. 454-455; November-December, 1998, Susan P. Bloom, review of Flying Solo, pp.

728-729; July, 2001, review of Uncle Daddy, possessor. 450.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 1996, review of Buried Alive, owner. 601; March 15, 1997, discussion of Spider Boy, p. 460; September 1, 1997, review waste Twilight Comes Twice, p. 1388; February 15, 2002, review sharing Poetry Matters, pp.

254-255; Sep 15, 2003, review of Hello, Harvest Moon, p. 1174.

Kliatt, Sept, 1997, Jeffrey Cooper, review staff Breathing In, Breathing Out: Possession a Writer's Notebook, p. 25.

Language Arts, April, 1992, review good deal Walking Trees, p. 304; Hike, 1994, review of What topping Writer Needs, p.

230; May well, 2003, Junko Yokota, Mingshui Cai, and Theresa Kubasak, review blond Poetry Matters, p. 396.

Library Journal, November 15, 1990, Nancy Heritage. Zuwiyya, review of Walking Trees, p. 78.

Publishers Weekly, April 24, 1995, review of Fig Pudding, p. 72; October 27, 1997, review of Twilight Comes Twice, p.

75; February 2, 1998, p. 91; May 3, 1999, review of Relatively Speaking, possessor. 78; April 23, 2001, consider of The Circus Surprise, holder. 77; September 15, 2003, examine of Hello, Harvest Moon, pp. 63-64.

Reading Teacher, December, 1997, Bonita L. Wilcox, review of Breathing In, Breathing Out, pp.

350-353.

School Library Journal, June, 1994, Judy Greenfield, review of I Go one better than Wings, p. 154; July, 1995, Alice Casey Smith, review pointer Fig Pudding, p. 78; Haw, 1996, Marjorie Lewis, review entity Buried Alive, p. 138; Haw, 1997, Sharon Korbeck, review get on to Ordinary Things, p.

144; July, 1997, Adele Greenlee, review snare SpiderBoy, p. 93; October, 1997, Virginia Golodetz, review of Twilight Comes Twice, p. 95; Oct, 1998, July Siebecker, review light Flying Solo, p. 135; Apr, 1999, Kristen Oravec, review sun-up Relatively Speaking, p. 146; Nov, 1999, Ginny Harrell, review in shape Fig Pudding, p.

64; Sep, 2000, Steve Clancy, review corporeal Tommy Trouble and the Witchcraft Marble, p. 196; November, 2000, Alicia Eames, review of Grandpa Never Lies, p. 119; Dec, 2000, Timothy Capehart, review always How Writers Work: Finding far-out Process That Works for You, p. 160; May, 2001, Heide Piehler, review of Uncle Daddy, p.

149; June, 2001, Bina Williams, review of The Halo Surprise, p. 112; August, 2001, Lauralyn Persson, review of Have You Been to the Seaboard Lately?, p. 194; February, 2002, Kristen Oravec, review of Poetry Matters, p. 143; September, 2003, Shawn Brommer, review of Hello, Harvest Moon, p. 178.

Voice stencil Youth Advocates, June, 1994, Diane Tuccillo, review of I Suppose Wings, pp.

106-107; October, 1996, p. 228.