The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley

Barbara Kerley took a unique approach when she wrote The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). She found in Mark Twain’s autobiography mentions of his daughter, Susy, and the diary she kept that included a biographer’s keen perception of her very own Papa. Susy decided so many people only saw her father as the humorist when she felt “I never saw a man with so much variety of feeling as Papa has” (Kerley). So with the honesty and determination of a 13-year old girl, Susy wanted to “set the record straight” (Kerley).

Susy detailed their daily lives and the habits of her father, such things as his penchant to talk to cats, how the need to write would strike him at all hours of the day and night and he would answer that call, and how, with his family, he was more serious person discussing important events and happenings with earnest frankness.  Twain himself treasured his daughter’s biography of him, using passages in his autobiography, and stated “I have had no compliment, no praise, no tribute from any source, that was so precious to me as this one was and still is. As I read it now, after all these many years, it is still a king’s message to me” (Kerley).

Excerpts from Susy’s diary are set a part against the page with a small Journal that opens up and is presented in cursive type face to show these are Susy’s direct thoughts and words. She knew her father well, and had no issue painting the positive sides of his personality as well as the negative. “Susy’s manuscript and snippets of wisdom and mirth from Twain’s copious oeuvre as fodder for her story. The child’s journal entries, reproduced in flowing handwritten, smaller folio inserts, add a dynamic and lovely pacing to the narrative, which includes little-known facts about Twain’s work. The text flawlessly segues into Susy’s carefully recorded, sometimes misspelled, details of his character, intimate life, and work routine during his most prolific years” (Paulsen-Yarovoy). These pop-out journals help to accent the beautiful illustrations  by Edwin Fotheringham that fill the pages. They depict Twain writing furiously, riding a donkey located on his sister-in-law’s farm, and cats. Cats can be found on every page to note in an undirect way Twain’s affection for the creatures.

The author has included a series of author’s notes, one on Twain himself that discusses his writer career and then a section on Susy that talks about why the author was drawn to this biography and what became of Susy. She passed away at the age of 24 and took a bit of Twain’s soul with her. He wrote to a friend, “I did not know that she could go away and take our lives with her, yet leave our dull bodies behind . . . My fortune is gone. I am a pauper” (Kerley). Such powerful words that help back up the serious notes of Twain’s nature Susy chronicled in her year-long biography.

Also included in the book is a selected time line of Mark Twain’s life and a page-long guide to writing your very own biography. There is also a careful citation that includes all the excerpts from Susy’s diary and a listing of what was taken from Twain’s autobiography and where these items are located, in Albert and Shirley Smalls Special Collections at the University of Virginia. This careful citation listing helps add credibility to Kerly’s research and her passion for writing this version of Mark Twain’s life as seen by someone who knew him and loved him better than most. The prose and the layout of the book with the wonderful illustrations help make the story interesting, and the insights from Susy give the biography more heart than many. It also helps show why this book so many awards and nominations:

2010 CYBLIS Non-Fiction Picture Book Award; Best Children’s Books 2010 – Publisher’s Weekly; Best Books 2010 – School Library Journal; Best Books for Children and Teens 2010 – Kirkus Reviews; Best of 2010 Books for Young Readers – Washington Post; A Junior Library Guild selection; 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing – New York Public Library; Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Books Gold Award – California Reading Association; Oregon Spirit Book Award for Nonfiction – OCTE; Oregon Book Award Finalist; NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book – and many, many more.

View the complete list at www.barbarakerley.com/site/the_extraordinary_mark_twin.html

Kerley, Barbara. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). Scholastic. 2010.

Kerley, Barbara. “The Extraordinary Mark Twin.” Website. www.barbarakerley.com/site/the_extraordinary_mark_twin.html 

Accessed 30 October, 2017.

Paulsen-Yarovoy, Sara. “The Extraordinary Mark Twain – Book Review”. School Library Journal. (2010).

https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKQQuCQBDF8a-yvLMHvc5RgogoOthJRAacaHFzZXfCNPrujbff__G-yAPowSFLgRwjSNPbOCsIdYwjzHkDVWVpCraerscL9rP5dq8PzR4zqG2rAuazrEtMQ994DWKtT3Hy0cQ2-onT6l6cRqcL-wld9_sDmnvWiYMAAAA&R=10179038&dNo=5 Accessed 30 October, 2017

 

There is a great deal of mystery that surrounds the out-of-control blaze on October 8, 1861 that raged for three days in Chicago, Illinois. The fire decimated the city and left 100,000 people homeless, and yet some of the details are still wreathed in the “need to blame” sentiment of the population at large without looking at the facts and seeking the truth. Jim Murphy in his book, The Great Fire, pulled the truth of the story and used a cinematic approach to telling the occurrence from information he gleaned from newspapers and books that were written during and shortly after the devastating fire. He does not shy away from the truth, discussing the mishandling of the fire alarms by a man that kept sending the fire fighters to the wrong address, to make out the inconsistencies in the newspapers blaming the family whose barn was the epicenter, and giving harrowing details of families separated from one another and their desperate need to find one another safe.

Photographs taken during the fire and the days of clean-up and exploration are mixed with illustrations found in newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune, from the same time frame. Murphy included a map of the Chicago streets showing the area of the city that had burned the day before the big blaze, and then repeated the maps with the further reach of the fire until the final map shows the miles of city the burned. Murphy is also quick to point out details about why the fire spread so quickly – the prairie wind, the wooden buildings and streets, the loss of water due to damage by the fire – and he is also quick to highlight some of the acts of kindness the blaze awakened in people. Strangers opening their homes, cities sending their own firefighters and engines to help fight the fire, and the millions of dollars of donations the United States raised to help Chicago and its citizens in the aftermath.

Murphy’s treatment of the history and the facts only deepens the depth of emotion and the harrowing fear, exhaustion, and hopelessness many of the character succumbed to as the days continued to burn. Booklist said, “The Great Fire” will automatically draw readers with its fiery cover and illustrations of disaster, but the text will keep them reading” (1995). I couldn’t agree more. Matching the precise prose with the revealing maps spotlights this tragedy in a way many such events don’t possess.

The book was met with much critical acclaim, including:

·          Newbery Honor (1996)

·         ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1996)

·         A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (1996)

·         BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1995)

·         Jefferson Cup (1996). (Wikipedia, 2017)

 

Booklist. “The Great Fire – Book Review”. (1995) https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=292612

Accessed 28 October, 2017

Wikipedia. “The Great Fire”. (2017). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Fire_(children%27s_novel) Accessed 28 October, 2017

 

Music Brought to Life in Verse

 

Walter Dean Myer’s Jazz is a celebration of music and culture. The poems are lyrical and rhythmic bringing the world of jazz and New Orleans to life on the page. Some of the poems feel like the thrumming heartbeat if the bass or rise in a glorious exaltation with the sharp cries of the trumpet. Many of the passages sing across the page, and this is what the producers did when they set these poems to CD. Many of the lines are sung by a male and female voice and jazz music written specifically as accompaniment for these poems play behind the vocals. It’s a unique and beautiful experience and one that perfectly captures the feeling in the book.

MaryAnne Karre of School Library Journal said, “From a New Orleans funeral celebration to be-bop and bluesy torch songs, they perform each piece with a distinctive jazz flavor, without allowing the music to overshadow the poetry. They also take turns reading the introduction, glossary, and timeline, so that the CD becomes a complete performance of the book that can stand on its own. This outstanding package immerses students in the art and history of this capricious and mesmerizing musical form” (2008).

The beautiful illustrations done by Christopher Myers, the poet’s son, bring to mind the unique and lively culture of New Orleans. The musicians are drawn in black ink and the back drops are brilliantly colored in the vivid greens and vibrant purples of a good Mardi Gras celebration. Alternating colors of words, such as in the poem Stride, help build a visual aesthetic for the rhythms of the poems allowing them to burst across the page with proper emphasis like the snap of a snare drum or the robust vocals of a singer.

A brief history of the rise and creation of Jazz music opens the book and it is bookended with a glossary that describes terms with their historical significance woven through the definitions. This information is a great starter for young fans of music or those that truly love jazz.

The audio accompaniment for this poetry collection won an Odyssey in 2008 and the illustrations were a Corretta Scott King honoree.

Myers, Walter Dean. Jazz. Holiday House (2006).

Karre, MaryAnne. (Book Review – Jazz with CD”. School Library Journal (2008).  https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAAKtWKk5RskpLzClO1VEqzs9XsiopKgUyC0qUrJSc8vOzlYDs4iolK0MDAxArE8bKAcp7-rn7KoG0AdkBoU4uISBOgZJVdLShjhKQ7ZyfV1KUmVRakl8E5JUn5pSkFimkpCbmKeRWphYVK8XG1gIAtZOsLIAAAAA&R=7873449&dNo=120

Accessed 10 October, 2017.

Salem Witches in Verse

The Salem witchcraft trials are a dark piece of American history. Young girls used the Puritan fear of the Devil against them, holding an entire region hostage with fear with the threat of crying “Witch”. In Wicked Girls, Sephanie Hemphill delves into the history of the trials with a fictionalized account that follows several of the key players through the rise and inevitable fall of their reign of tyranny: Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Susannah Sheldon.

 

The books first poem, Salem, ends with the line “There are rules to follow here, one righteous path thrashed down through the woods”. These final lines help set the tone of the book to follow the rules or to be cast out. The girls decide to cast others out, those that harmed them, those they didn’t like, those that their parents claimed were evil, and finally, each other.

What stands out in this book is how real and believable the characters are. Margaret Wallcot’s struggle to find a proper suitor and to keep his affections once they are betrothed a she has allowed him “’neath her knickers”. Mercy Lewis’s struggle with the loss of her family and the time spent under a reverend that sexually and physically abused her. Anne Putnam Jr. who idolizes and worships Mercy, but can’t stand being pushed aside because she is younger.

These tales are heart wrenching and relatable, and seeing them played out in verse makes them more immediate than it might have been accomplished in prose with the economy of words needed to paint such vivid pictures.

Kirkus reviews says, : In this superbly wrought fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials, Printz Honor winner Hemphill offers a fresh perspective on an oft-told tale by providing lesser-known Salem accusers with a variety of compelling motivations that will resonate deeply with contemporary teens. Twelve-year-old Ann Putnam is starved for her brusque mother’s love. Her older cousin Margaret is jealous of anyone her betrothed Isaac’s wandering eye falls upon. And 17-year-old pretty, blond servant Mercy Lewis is tired of the surreptitious touches of pious Puritan men. When two other girls in their village fall prey to fits, Ann, Margaret and Mercy recognize the opportunity to be seen in a society that brands them invisible. But as their confidence grows, so does their guilt. They know exactly what they’re doing, but the rewards are too sweet to stop: “…our elders shrivel and shrink, / and we girls / grow spine tall.” In subtle, spare first-person free-verse poems, the author skillfully demonstrates how ordinary people may come to commit monstrous acts. Haunting and still frighteningly relevant” (2010).

At the end of the book, Hemphill provides a list of sources she used for her resources and includes selections on the real girls and the real victims to put the history in perspective. For anyone who might be interested in the Salem witchcraft trials and the history behind what happened during this time of religious persecution, Wicked Girls and the information provided by the author are a good place to start. The relatable and very real characters, the vivid recounting of the accusations and the punishments levied against the victims, and the guilt that leads to the destruction of the girl’s camaraderie is riveting and vibrant.

Hemphill, Stephanie. Wicked Girls A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Harper Collins (2010). ISBN:  9780061853289

Kirkus Reviews (2010). “Wicked Girls A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials – Review”. https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=10876567. Accessed 8 October, 2017.

Poems about Pirates? Yes, why not!

 

Blackbeard: The Pirate King by J. Patrick Lewis is a brief history lesson of Blackbeard written in verse form. Though the Lewis is quick to point out in several of his footnotes following the poems, much of the information provided is speculative, and not actual fact though historians have a good idea of who Blackbeard was, Edward Teach, as posited in the final lines of the opening poem:

But of all the thieves of the Seven Seas

No one would ever reach

The height and might

Of the roguish Knight of the Black Flag, Edward Teach.

 

The remainder of the poems denotes some of the antics Blackbeard got up to: shooting his first mate in the leg to remind him of his place, backstabbing his crew and making off with the treasures to seek a pardon and retirement, to the Blockade of Charleston where Blackbeard held the port hostage without firing a single gunshot. Blackbeard was finally laid low in the Battle of Ocracoke where his plans didn’t quite go as planned.

The verses in the book are sometimes a little awkward, not having an easy cadence to make the reading aloud fumble on the tongue. Daryl Grabarek of the School Library Journal stated, “A close-up cover illustration of the infamous Edward Teach, teeth bared and eyes glaring, will draw pirate aficionados and the curious alike to this book. Lewis offers 12 poems (some with awkward rhyme schemes) that will be best appreciated by those who know a little about Blackbeard and pirating history, though a footnote with important details follows most poems and an authors note mentions sources. What truly shines here is the design. Each poem is presented with a striking illustrationtheres N. C. Wyeths painterly Duel on the Beach; Howard Pyles evocative An Attack on a Galleon; a reproduction of one of the earliest known images of Blackbeard, by Thomas Nicholls (circa 1730); and an illustration (aglow in reds and oranges) of the terrifying Teach by the contemporary artist Rick Farrell. The variety of fonts and the pale brown pages evoke images of long-ago texts. Share this collection with reluctant poetry readers and anyone fascinated with the topic” (2006). Grabarek sums up what is found in the pages quite aptly.

The stand out of this book, aside from the history for pirate fans, is the artwork, both old and new. The simple coloration of the pages makes the book feel like an old journal that might have been penned by a hostage or a crew member watching Blackbeard at his adventures. The information in the footnotes, such as the account of Blackbeard shooting his second-mate, Israel Hands: “We do not know if this story is true. We do now that after Blackbeard’s death, Israel Hands testified against his fellow crewmates and avoided the gallows.” (Lewis, 2006). At the very end of the book is a timeline that sums up Blackbeard, or Edward Teach’s, life as the Pirate King.

Lewis, J. Patrick. Blackbeard the Pirate King. Washington D.C: National Geographic Society (2006). ISBN: 9780792255857

Grabarek, Daryl. “Blackbeard the Pirate King – Review”. School Library Journal. (2006). https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKwQrCMBCE4VcJc-6hve6xCCKieGhPpUhqVg0JbkgiouK7u719_zBfFAe62li4QREB1fxUpgpCLxKgLh9Q17aqqOvuuD1gPatPY78Z1kigaeoaqPf8fkl258HXyNpLtJewsM3O1Dub5LOtbIJ_3DDPvz8hss9XgQAAAA&R=7246464&dNo=3. Accessed 8 October, 2017.