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Candace Fleming

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.candacefleming.com/

Genre

Children's, History, Young Adult

Member Since

July 2014

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I have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.

I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.

Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calli I have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.

I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.

Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories "fibs" they called them "imaginative." They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on.

In second grade, I discovered a passion for language. I can still remember the day my teacher, Miss Johnson, held up a horn-shaped basket filled with papier-mache pumpkins and asked the class to repeat the word "cornucopia." I said it again and again, tasted the word on my lips. I tested it on my ears. That afternoon, I skipped all the way home from school chanting, "Cornucopia! Cornucopia!" From then on, I really began listening to words—to the sounds they made, and the way they were used, and how they made me feel. I longed to put them together in ways that were beautiful, and yet told a story.

As I grew, I continued to write stories. But I never really thought of becoming an author. Instead, I went to college where I discovered yet another passion—history. I didn't realize it then, but studying history is really just an extension of my love of stories. After all, some of the best stories are true ones — tales of heroism and villainy made more incredible by the fact they really happened.

After graduation, I got married and had children. I read to them a lot, and that's when I discovered the joy and music of children's books. I simply couldn't get enough of them. With my two sons in tow, I made endless trips to the library. I read stacks of books. I found myself begging, "Just one more, pleeeeease!" while my boys begged for lights-out and sleep. Then it struck me. Why not write children's books? It seemed the perfect way to combine all the things I loved: stories, musical language, history, and reading. I couldn't wait to get started.

But writing children's books is harder than it looks. For three years I wrote story after story. I sent them to publisher after publisher. And I received rejection letter after rejection letter. Still, I didn't give up. I kept trying until finally one of my stories was pulled from the slush pile and turned into a book. My career as a children's author had begun. ...more

51 posts
Candace Fleming's Blog

Bulldozer’s Big Day in Romania

[image error]Eric and I are honored that Bulldozer’s Big Day was selected to be distributed to at-risk children throughout Romania. Translated into Romanian, the book takes on a different significance in its new role as ambassador for education.

Here’s the story, presented as Leslie Hawke wrote it, for those of you who might like to found a program like this, which is highly successful!

“I

Combine Editions
Candace Fleming’s books

Average rating: 4.02 · 67,994 ratings · 11,858 reviews · 66 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia 4.16 avg rating — 13,591 ratings — published 2014 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart 3.82 avg rating — 8,217 ratings — published 2011 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fatal Throne by Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author), M.T. Anderson, Jennifer Donnelly (Goodreads Author) 3.96 avg rating — 6,828 ratings — published 2018 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Oh, No! by Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author), Eric Rohmann (Illustrator) 3.96 avg rating — 3,501 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II 4.06 avg rating — 3,166 ratings — published 2024 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author), G. Brian Karas (Illustrator) 4.07 avg rating — 3,045 ratings — published 2002 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author), G. Brian Karas (Illustrator) 4.08 avg rating — 2,326 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author), Eric Rohmann (Illustrator) 4.54 avg rating — 1,954 ratings — published 2020 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave 3.67 avg rating — 1,931 ratings — published 2012 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author), Stacey Dressen-McQueen (Illustrator) 4.51 avg rating — 1,510 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Candace Fleming…

Series by Candace Fleming

Aesop Elementary School (2 books)
by

Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author)

3.78 avg rating — 1,417 ratings

History Pals (2 books)
by

Candace Fleming (Goodreads Author)

3.86 avg rating — 626 ratings

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Candace’s Recent Updates

Candace Fleming wrote a new blog post More On Audience.… Years ago, I reluctantly planted a vegetable garden. I wasn’t especially compelled to dig around in the dirt, but my then-first grader desperately wan Read more of this blog post »
Nov 09, 2024 02:56AM · like

More of Candace's books…

Quotes by Candace Fleming (?)

“We may just be specters in this world, but our stories, if they are remembered and retold, become real and solid and alive... Once you hear a story, it becomes part of you. It can't die.”
― Candace Fleming, On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave

tags: immortality, memory, stories

16 likes

“Once you hear a story, it becomes part of you. It can't die.”
― Candace Fleming, On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave

7 likes

“Oh, how I prefer the honest violence of men, who will bash in another man's skull and be done, to the thousand shallow cuts of women's malice.”
― Candace Fleming, Fatal Throne

tags: bullying, men-vs-women, pain, violence

7 likes

See all Candace Fleming's quotes »

Polls

We have read a lot of great books this year but did we miss your favorite?

What book should we read in December?

You may write in titles, provided the book is a 2026 Newbery contender and already published.

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze

14 votes 28.0%

The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls by J. Anderson Coats

9 votes 18.0%

Is It Real?: The Loch Ness Monster by Candace Fleming

9 votes 18.0%

Jella Lepman and Her Library of Dreams: The Woman Who Rescued a Generation of Children and Founded the World’s Largest Children’s Library by Katherine Paterson

8 votes 16.0%

Dear Acorn (Love, Oak): Letter Poems to Friends

4 votes 8.0%

The Boy Who Lived in a Shell: Snippets for Wandering Minds by John Himmelman

2 votes 4.0%

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli (write-in)

2 votes 4.0%

The Nine Lives of Han Yu and Lulu (write-in)

1 vote 2.0%

A World Without without Summer by Nicholas Day (write-in)

1 vote 2.0%

50 total votes

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