Ralph Fletcher (born March 17, 1953) is a writer of children's picture books, young-adult fiction and poetry as well as an educational consultant who has also written books for both children and professional educators on the craft of writing.
Ralph Fletcher grew up in Marshfield, Massachusetts. He is the oldest of nine children. Each of his parents was one of eight children. He received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1975 and his M.F.A degree in writing from Columbia University in 1983. In college he participated in foreign study programs in Tonga in the South Pacific and Sierra Leone, South Africa. After receiving his masters degree, Ralph worked in New York City classrooms as part of the Teacher College writing project. Fletcher currently lives in Lee, New Hampshire. He is married to JoAnn Portalupi with whom he has collaborated on several professional educator books. Together they have four sons.
His young adult novel Uncle Daddy won a Christopher Medal in the Books for Young People, ages 10—12 category in 2002. Fig Pudding, a young adult chapter book by Fletcher, was recommended as one of the ten best books of 1995 by the American Library Association. Fletcher's poetry book I Am Wings was chosen by School Library Journal as one of their best books of 1994.