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Sidney Fleischman (1920 to 2010) was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved with his family when he was two years old to San Diego, California. He had loved magic tricks ever since he was a young boy and maintained that interest all his life. He was a journalist and author of books for adults. In 1962, he drew on his fondness for magic tricks to write Mr. Mysterious and Company, his first of many successful novels for children (see my review). His novels are known for their quirky characters who are not always what they seem to be, light-hearted humor, interesting plots and colorful villains, and an emphasis on the importance of families.
The Whipping Boy won Sid Fleischman the 1987 Newbery Medal. One might call it a fairy tale, though there is nothing fanciful in it, except, of course, what is put there by the author’s lively (and a little offbeat) imagination! Prince Horace, who everyone calls Prince Brat, is a – brat. He doesn’t learn how to read, write, or do arithmetic and plays mean pranks on everyone he can find. Jemmy is his whipping boy. Since it is against the law to lay hands on the Prince, the whipping boy takes the Prince’s punishments for him. Until one day Prince Brat runs away from home and drags Jemmy with him – and everything changes. The story is full of witty dialogue, unforgettable villains, and, like in most Fleischman’s books, a change in character for the better.
In one of the famous Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes remarks to his friend, Dr. Watson: “Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, ... It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never wrote that story. Many people over the years have tried. Fleischman borrows a part of Holmes’ statement and wrote a book entitled The Giant Rat of Sumatra, with a pirate’s ship named the same. In a way, this book is a lot like Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, since there is a fierce pirate who is very likeable, just like Long John Silver, and a cabin boy, Shipwreck, who is a lot like Jim Hawkins. But Fleischman’s book is much more light-hearted and takes place in San Diego right at the start of the Mexican-American War in 1846, which also plays a key part in the story. There are bandits, pirates, highwaymen (and women), bad men who are really good-hearted, supposedly good men with evil hearts, and secrets from the past that affect affairs in the present. An amusing tale from someone who is known for producing humorous stories!
Like me, Fleischman must have absolutely loved Treasure Island and pirates. The Ghost in the Noonday Sun, one of his earlier novels, deals with a boy, Oliver Finch, who is kidnapped and taken aboard the Bloody Hand, a pirate ship commanded by Captain Scratch. There is treasure and even the chapter titles sound like those in Treasure Island! Captain Scratch believes in ghosts and steals Oliver who, being born while the midnight bells were chiming, is believed to be able to see ghosts. Captain Scratch wants to take advantage of Oliver’s supposed ghost-seeing ability to find buried treasure. This is a rollicking yarn of a story, filled with colorful pirate talk (no profanity), humor, bravery, clever plans, and no actual ghosts.