Flying Solo is a young adult novel written by Ralph Fletcher, first published in 1998. One of the most famous aviators of all time, Amelia Earhart took the golden age of flying by storm! Taking her first flight lesson in 1920, Earhart would go on to set the world altitude record, be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone, and many more feats.

Marshfield Dreams

Flying Solo is a young adult novel written by Ralph Fletcher, first published in 1998.

by Ralph Fletcher
Holt, Henry Books for Young Readers

Imagine learning from a nosy classmate that your mother is having yet another baby. To Ralph’s classmates, news of one more Fletcher baby is just “scuttlebutt.” But for Ralph, the oldest of nine, being part of a large family means more kids to join in the fun—from making tripods in the woods and “snicking” up the rug, to raising chicks and even discovering a meteor (well, maybe). It doesn’t feel like there’s life beyond Marshfield, Massachusetts. Then one day Dad’s new job moves the family to Chicago, and there’s so much Ralph has to leave behind. In this humorous and captivating memoir, Ralph Fletcher traces the roots of his storytelling.

Flying Solo Ralph Fletcher Book Review

$7.99 Paperback

Spider Boy

by Ralph Fletcher
Houghton Mifflin Company

After moving to another state, seventh grader Bobby deals with the change by telling people at school made-up stories and then retreating into his world of pet spiders and books about spiders.

Humorous story about a boy’s adjustment to new surroundings and kids in a new school. Packed with fascinating facts about spiders, the story is told through journal entries and scenes of events. Contains a spider bibliography.

$6.99 Paperback

Fig Pudding

by Ralph Fletcher
Houghton Mifflin Company

Take it from Cliff, being the oldest of six kids is not easy under the best of circumstances. Who can be Mr. Reliable all the time? How do you deal with a brother who enjoys sitting under the kitchen table for punishment? Or explain to your sister that she can’t divorce herself from the family just because they eat meat? Or figure out what your baby brother wants for Christmas when he asks for a yidda yadda? Told in the first person, each lively, humorous episode from Cliff’s fifth-grade year focuses on one of the kids. Together they create a strong, satisfying story of a large, closely knit family.

$6.99 Paperback

Flying Solo

by Ralph Fletcher
Random House Children’s Books

Rachel, having chosen to be mute following the sudden death of a classmate, shares responsibility with the other sixth-graders who decide not to report that the substitute teacher failed to show up.
When the substitute for Mr. “Fab” Fabiano never shows up and his sixth-grade students are on their own, they set out to prove that they can run the class by themselves. With a little ingenuity and some careful planning, they might just succeed. But when a fight breaks out between Bastian Fauvell and Rachel White over a classmate, Tommy Feathers, who died six months earlier, everything begins to fall apart.

$6.99 Paperback

Flying Solo is a young adult novel written by Ralph Fletcher, first published in 1998.

Plot summary[change | change source]

Mr. Fabiano is a sixth-grade teacher that calls in sick on April 28th. When his class arrives they find that their substitute teacher has not shown up. The class decides that they will not report this to the principal and will run the classroom by themselves. The students follow the instructions left by their teacher. All goes well until Mr. Fabiano is called upon to join in a school assembly.

Characters in Flying Solo :, by heart jessie girl[change | change source]

• Mr. Fabiano — Sixth-grade teacher that is gone for the day
• Rachel — She has been mute for six months since a classmate (Tommy Feathers) who was fond of her died six months ago
• Bastian — An Air Force brat that can't stop thinking about his dog that will be quarantined
• Sean--A boy who has a crush on Rachel and is really nice to her
• Karen — The natural leader of the class
• Jessica — The only member of the class that is not sure the students should run the class in fact she hates the idea
• Christopher — A nasty spoiled boy, that annoys most of the class
• Missy — A little heavy girl, she is Rachel's best friend, Rachel's interpreter.
• Sky Reed— a new kid in the class, he's from California
• Rhonda - brave and competitive.

Themes[change | change source]

Some of topics in the novel include selective mutism, death, and grief.^[1]

Notes[change | change source]

1. ↑Ward, Marilyn (2006-06-06). Voices from the Margins. Information Age Publishing. pp. p36. ISBN978-1593114008.|pages= has extra text (help)

References[change | change source]

• Bloom, Susan P. (Nov/Dec98). Horn Book Magazine. Vol. 74 (Issue 6): p728-729. ISSN0018-5078.|volume= has extra text (help); |issue= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Siebecker, July (October 1998). 'Flying Solo'. School Library Journal. Vol. 44 (Issue 10): p135. ISSN0362-8930.|volume= has extra text (help); |issue= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
• Johnson, Nancy J. (November 99). Reading Teacher. Vol. 53 (Issue 3): p234. ISSN0034-0561.|volume= has extra text (help); |issue= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

Flying Solo Ralph Fletcher Movie

Outside websites[change | change source]

Flying Solois ayoung adult novel written by Ralph Fletcher, first published in 1998.

Flying Solo Ralph Fletcher Movie