Fifth-grade hijinks keep Aesop school entertaining
Candace Fleming has written more than two dozen books, all for children and young audiences. Yet, the award-winning author, who lives in Oak Park, harbors some concerns.
“I’m concerned that we’ve turned reading into a chore,” says Fleming, the mother of two grown sons.
Her latest book continues her mission to change all that, and make reading fun, purely for the sake of entertainment, she says.
“If they read it, and get a good laugh from it, than I consider myself to have done a good job,” Fleming says.
In August, her latest novel was released, called “The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School.” It is a sequel to the popular one, “The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School,” which she wrote in 2007.”
Her newest book welcomes readers back to Mr. Jupiter’s dynamic class at Aesop Elementary where his mischievous students are fifth-graders now and they get into all sorts of antics.
There’s Bernadette Braggadoccio, who ruffles some feathers when she does some reporting for the school’s TV station, and things really get zany when the students get guinea pigs for their class pet.
Aside from its humor, “Fabled Fifth Graders” was selected by the Chicago Public Library as one of its “Best of the Best” for kids among books published in 2010. It also was a Parents’ Choice recommended book.
Chapters in the book are sort of a modern-day spin on Aesop’s Fables --- in a school setting --- and they subtly drive home some moral values. But mostly, it’s written to be light, breezy and just wacky enough to pique the interest of fourth- and fifth-graders, Fleming says.
“I love fourth- and fifth-graders,” she says. “They’re just so eager to learn. They’re fun to be around and have the best sense of humor.”
And Fleming should know. During the course of the year, she travels to schools across the country, and even internationally, where her fans are not hesitant to suggest ideas and tricks for her next book.
On the day of this interview, Fleming had met with a class in Texas, through video conferencing on Skype, where they gave her plenty of ideas for the next installment in the series, which they assumed she was going to write.
In January, Fleming traveled to Singapore for the month to teach writing to students at the American School.
“I’ve met lots of children over the last year, and they love to share their ideas and their jokes,” she says. “I feel so privileged to be let into their world.”
Fleming began writing children’s books after discovering how much she enjoyed reading to her sons when they were young. She says she loved the stories as much as the sound of the language as they were being read aloud.
As one who always loved telling stories and learning new words, she finally discovered her true calling of writing for children.
Her collection now includes children’s books in all sorts of genres, from picture books and historical picture books, to biographies and novels, both aimed at young audiences.
Currently, she is working on her next young adult novel, this one incorporating ghost stories, before tackling another non-fiction project.
“I don’t like to be categorized in just one genre, so that’s why I continue to tackle all different genres.” Fleming says. “I love all of them.”
What: The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School, by Candace Fleming
About: A 176-page sequel to its fourth-grade version, mixing humor with a modern day spin on Aesops Fables
Cost: $15.99 hardcover, available at all major booksellers
Online: candacefleming.com