Mark Twain: An American Star

by Elizabeth MacLeod

This book in the Snapshots: Images of People and Places in History series introduces young readers to the famous writer, comedian, world traveler and lecturer. This poor boy born Sam Clemens grew up to write books that changed literature in America and around the world. Celebrated around the world for his humorous writings, Mark Twain often had little to laugh about in his life. He was plagued by financial difficulties, and his wife and three of his children all died before him. Despite these setbacks, he maintained the broadly appealing sense of humor that made him the first American star. From his Mississippi boyhood, through the Civil War, his years of fame following the publication of Huckleberry Finn, and his business reversals and family tragedies, Mark Twain's story is a fascinating trip through a changing United States. Includes many photos, reproductions of contemporary art and artifacts, newspaper excerpts, a timeline of Twain's life, an index and a list of places to visit.

Genres: History

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Elizabeth MacLeod was born on October 21 in Toronto. As a child Liz liked to read Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables books, swim, sing, dance, and hang out with her friends. Encouraged by her parents, she began writing stories and poetry for her own enjoyment at the age of 10, her favorite subjects being mad scientists and tyrants who threatened to take over the world.

Today Liz is inspired by almost anything--her friends, reading, and the funny, beautiful world around her. Her first job in publishing was at OWL magazine, and Liz credits editor Sylvia Funston as one of her mentors. Liz also names Valerie Wyatt, a writer and editor, as an important influence on her work, as well as a good friend.

An avid reader, Liz enjoyed digging up amazing facts and researching historic royals and their countries and customs for Royal Murder (2008). She encourages anyone with a desire to write to "just do it." Even if no one ever reads it, the joy that comes from expressing yourself through words is reward enough. Liz adds that writing takes practice, and with each day you are bound to improve.

Liz lives in Toronto with her husband, Paul, and their two cats, Smedley and Cosmo.

She enjoys keeping active, spending time with friends, music, theater, and cheering on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Liz plans to continue writing about a broad spectrum of topics in both fiction and non-fiction, and would like to work on more picture books in the future.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of his works, I thought I should learn more about the man himself.
I was highly impressed by this very detailed biography of his life.
He really was an American Star!
His influences on the literary world and his observations on social/human life are all brought to life through his own life story.
The book features photographs, rough draft clippings, newspaper articles, quotes, and even includes personal life stories about himself, his wife, his family, his books, etc.

The book doesn't just explain his life, it delves deeper into this man who was a river boat captain, author, newspaper man, traveler, lecturer and more! He didn't have an easy or cheerful life but it is said that those that don't have it easy, have the biggest hearts full of laughter and love. We should strive to be as dedicated to what we love to do as American Icon Mark Twain!

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative mini-biography on Samuel Clements, a.k.a Mark Twain. The layout is done nicely with one page of information then page of assorted photographs, sketches & interesting facts that follow the adjacent text nicely. Students not ready or interested in reading a full chapter book biography will benefit from this simple read.

[Kyle19 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very straight forward and actually shows Mark's struggles and his good times. I found that it was very clear for a biography about someone who died over 100 years ago. I never knew about Mark Twain and now I can write a test about him because it gave good info and it made sense. I think that Mark Twain was the first big star in North America. I found that a couple of the paragraphs were too short and too quick. Also, I think the info could have been placed better and that sometimes it would give more info on the big parts of Mark's life. I really liked at the end how the author put a little summary of Mark's life and how she posted pictures that were easily visible. I think that Mark was a powerful writer and focused on the problems of the world. Also, he didn't hide the problems of the world and was honest with his words. I admire that Mark kept his personality even after losing three of his children and his wife before his death. I could not believe how people would call Huckleberry Finn a book about how the people were and how we are right now "racism" or "insulting" even though that's the way we are and were or how people ban Huckleberry Finn from libraries, schools, etc, etc. I would recommend the book for anyone because it is basically Wikipedia on paper. I wish that Mark would have been born later so he could share his majestic literature with us in an enjoyable old style way as he did back then. I think the thing I liked the most about the biography was the details like the pictures and the summary of his life. I think if I could read any book I would be drawn to read Huckleberry Finn just because I think it must be a straight- forward unlike almost every other book. I cannot believe how hard life was back in the 1800's

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Twain An American Star tells the story of one or America's greatest and most popular authors. Though broken into very short one page chapters, this book is still geared towards older elementary students because of the vocabulary. The left side of each page is text heavy with one or two photos or quotes, while the right side of each page includes illustrations, photos, captions, or a comic of Twain telling the reader an interesting tidbit of information. Overall I learned some new information about Mark Twain, but it wasn't in an exciting fashion. Some of the page layouts felt a little "busy" and wordy and could have been simplified. A middle of the road biography that does provide the reader with the story of Mark Twain.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

really well done.