Fleischman has written primarily historical fiction. Structurally the most complex, Bull Run describes events leading up to and through the first Battle of Bull Run and its immediate aftermath. Like Bull Run, The Borning Room uses first person narration, but it reveals only at the end that it was primarily a flashback. It tells about life in the late nineteenth century in Ohio.

Path of the Pale Horse tells of an epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793. Saturnalia tells of events in Boston in the late seventeenth century. I Am Phoenix and Joyful Noise contain poems about birds and insects. These books reflect Fleischman's deep interest in American history and his interest in natural history, particularly that of birds, and if read in order of publication, show how confident he has become as a stylist, willing to take chances and trusting to the intelligence of his audience.