The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara. 2010. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). Ill. by: Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY. Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978-0-545-12508-6

PLOT SUMMARY

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) is a biography of Mark Twain, from the perspective of his daughter Susy and includes some biographical information about Susy Celemens, told by Barbara Kerley. It is filled with whimsical musings on Twain, mixed with family stories, thoughts, and feelings shared from Susy’s diary. It provides a candid look into Samuel Clemens, (Mark Twain)’s life, and gives a personal view into the Clemens household. It delves into some funny roles various family members had in Mark Twain’s life and career, along with the heartwarming glimpse into their love for each other.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Kerley writes a biography within a biography as he details the life of Mark Twain through the eyes of his daughter, Susy. Along with his text, Kerley includes excerpts of Susy’s diary into each page, which looks like a miniature book insert. They support Kerley’s information and add an engaging element, as we get a glimpse into his daughter’s thoughts. He utilizes bold font when directly quoting Susy and Mark Twain. His sense of humor is evident as one page shows a poster advertising one of Twain’s lectures. The poster features bold, capitalized headings that appear to be describing Twain, but the text directly contradicts the sub-headings. One line says, “MAGNIFICENT FIREWORKS,” while the text under it states, “Were in contemplation for this occasion, but the idea has been abandoned.” The reader can’t help but laugh at this page!

Kerley’s use of Susy Clemens’ diary and other primary sources such as, letters and biographies, substantiate the accuracy of the quotations. After the book ends, he includes instructions for kids, on how to write biographies of their own. In addition, there is an author’s note about Papa and Susy, which give details about the inspiration for the book and more factual information about Twain’s and Susy’s life. He also provides a detailed timeline of Mark Twain’s life, along with a list a sources used to write the book.

Fotheringham’s cartoon-like illustrations are colorful and brilliant. The pages cleverly support the text and bring the character of Twain to life. He uses bold lines and bold colors to catch the reader’s eye. Each page has a squiggle of lines flowing from Mark Twain and the tales he writes, tying the pages together.   

REVIEW EXCERPT

2010 CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Book Award

*Starred review in the School Library Journal: “Kerley and Fotheringham again craft a masterfully perceptive and largely visual biography, this time about the iconic 19th-century American writer.”

CONNECTIONS

*Invite students to use journal writing to keep track of their day to day experiences.

*Students can write their own biographies about a family member’s life.

*Another children’s biography about Mark Twain:

Prince, April Jones. 2004. Who Was Mark Twain? ISBN 978-0448433196

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. 2009. Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.: ISBN 9780618966363

PLOT SUMMARY

A delightfully appealing and informative journey through the multi-levels of the ocean. Jenkins provides scientific data about marine life and the depths of the sea itself, presented in a way that is fun and engaging for all readers. The colorful illustrations of the creatures and organisms are put together in a way helps the reader to visualize the array of life forms described. The detailed index at the end of the book gives a more in-depth description of the marine life detailed in the book. It is an excellent tool to open up a reader’s curiosity to read more on the subject of sea life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea, Jenkins engages the reader with his thoughtful text and illustrations. Each page contains short summaries about the different levels of the ocean, from the surface, to the deepest point on the planet. It explains about the atmosphere and type of life found at each level. The book contains many text features that enhance the text and allows for better imagery of the material, such as: the depth graph, the sea-life index, and detailed illustrations. The cut-paper collage used for his illustrations are simple, yet thorough in showing the size and details of the different species that live below the surface of the ocean.

The book itself would be very fun and informative for all readers. Although the vocabulary can be difficult, it includes enough included pronunciations and fun illustration to help a younger reader along. This would be a great book for anyone interested in sea life.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

*Booklist review: "In this plunge into the deep, Jenkins displays his usual keen awareness of what is fascinating about biology and imparts it without sensationalism—the facts speak for themselves.

*Starred review in the School Library Journal: “Jenkins introduces some of the animals that inhabit descending layers of water all the way down to the Marianas Trench.”

CONNECTIONS

*Invite students to learn more about similar sea life through related texts:

Collard, Sneed B. III. The Deep Sea Floor. ISBN 978-1570914034

*Another book by Steve Jenkins:

Jenkins, Steve. 2010. BONES: Skeletons and How They Work. ISBN 9780545046510

What to do About Alice: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to do About Alice? Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-439-92231-9

PLOT SUMMARY

Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, is a “running riot.” This picture book biography tells the story of Alice Roosevelt’s life from young childhood to the wife of a congressman. Throughout the book, Kerley details the energetic lifestyle of Alice and some of the hurdles she faced such as the death of her mother and her need of leg braces. Alice was determined not to let anything hold her back. Although she was home schooled, she took it upon herself to learn everything she needed to know. After her father became president of the United States, it was even more important that she be “well-behaved.” Despite her father’s attempts to shape her, the country grew to love and appreciate her for her “outrageous” lifestyle, as she embraces her new role as goodwill ambassador. She marries a politician, keeping with what she knows, but she remains true to herself.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Kerley accurately describes the early part of Alice Roosevelt's life with this children’s biography. Adding to the authenticity, she includes quotes that were obtained from other biographies such as Princess Alice: A Biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Carol Felsenthal. Kerley also includes author's notes titled, Princess Alice, Sister, and The Other Washington Monument. Each text addition gives more detailed background information that gives the reader a more in depth insight. The Other Washington Monument picks up where the book ended and gives a brief summary Alice’s life after her marriage and throughout the years. I think that this snippet of information gave the best glimpse into the personality of Alice.

Although this book does not include many text features, dates are included which allow the reader to construct a timeline of important events in Alice’s life. Quotes and important text are bolded for emphasis. For example, “Alice ate up the world,” is the general theme of the book because it is how her father described her personality. The illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham are very cartoon-like, yet detailed. The drawings themselves closely represent the text. They give a fun representation to the life Alice lived.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Nominee

*Starred review in Booklist: "Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was."

*Starred review in School Library Journal: "Kerley's text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject s antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship’s swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father s trusted advisers. Fotheringham's digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text.”

CONNECTIONS

*Introduce students to biographies. Discuss the differences between biography and auto-biography.

*Other books by Barbara Kerley:

Kerley, Barbara. 2010. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). Ill. by Ed Fotheringham. ISBN: 9780545125086

Kerley, Barbara. 2012. Those Rebels, John and Tom. Ill. by Ed Fotheringham. ISBN: 9780545222686

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bryant, Jen. 2014. The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-8028-5385-1

PLOT SUMMARY

“When he put them in long, neat rows, he felt as if the word clicked itself into order.” After the death of Peter Roget’s father, he finds that creating word lists are a comfort to him. His family moves around a lot, leaving Roget to struggle with making friends. He turns to his lists and began his first book at eight, called Peter, Mark, Roget. His Book.

The text follows him from childhood to adulthood, as he grows up to become a teacher. He continues to add lists to his book, including a list of “right words. “After nineteen years of writing lists, he finished his book in 1885. He had become a doctor and started giving lectures. His book of word lists came in handy when he needed to be precise during his lectures. He got married and had a family of his, but he was still a bit shy. He continued adding lists to his book, but other writers had the same idea. With his children’s encouragement, Peter decide to reorganize his book and publish it. His “treasure house” book, called Thesaurus was a hit!

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The first page of the book piques the reader’s interest because it labels the text features on the page such as: the title, sub-title, author, illustrator, and geographical location. This colorful biography includes lists on every page, reinforcing the idea of Roget’s love of lists. Melissa Sweet includes only words that are found in Roget’s original book. She utilized a mixture of photography, scans, and illustrations to provide the colorful backgrounds.

After the last text, Jenkins includes a List of Principal Events that detail important moments in Roget’s life, along with world events. He also includes an author’s note that gives some background information about how he became interested in the life of Roger Roget. There is also an illustrator’s note that explains how Sweet created her beautiful collages and the inspiration behind them. A copy of a page from Roget’s original book is included, which lends an authentic touch to the book.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Starred review in the Horn Book Guide: “Apt language and ingenious imagery combine to tell the life story of Peter Mark Roget, creator of the thesaurus.”

2015 Caldecott Medal Winner

Booklist Review: "In brilliant pages teeming with enthusiasm for language and learning, Bryant and Sweet joyfully celebrate curiosity, the love of knowledge, and the power of words."

CONNECTIONS

*Invite students to rewrite familiar book titles using a thesaurus. They can present their ideas to the class.

*Other related reading about word authors:

Ferris, Jeri Chase. Noah Webster and His Words. ISBN 978-0544582422