Rating: Marginal
Greenwillow, 2008, $18.99
ISBN: 978-0061344312
ISBN: 978-0061344312
Age/Grade Level: ages 9 to 12
This biography of Mark Twain was written by a Newbery medalist and generally received good reviews. It should be a sure selection. However, the unappealing writing style and seeming contradictions cited throughout the book make it a marginal choice for the library’s collection. Fleischman’s prose is tedious and unduly verbose. There is very little flow and children would find the text very difficult to follow. Although extensively and thoroughly cited, it seems as though the author constructed this entire book around a random selection of quotations that he found in other works. He is extremely subjective in certain parts of the book taking far too much artistic liberty- an act that he later tries to defend. (p.177) But the most glaring problem with the book is that it is full of contradications. For example, Fleischman states that Twain became depressed and gloomy near the end of his life. “His bleak view of life became as frozen and fixed as the north star”. (p.171) But less than a page later he writes that “Twain was never able to abandon his gift for laughter.”
Overall, the book does not capture the essence of Twain’s life or his works. The prolix descriptions will turn away young and old readers alike. The only redeeming qualities to this biography are wonderful illustrations, a very good timeline, and a chapter that includes one of Twain’s stories, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”.
Reviewer: Sarah Stimson, Orange County Public Library/Irvine University Park
