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| Artwork by Edwin Fotheringham Image from www.edfotheringham. com |
by Barbara Kerley
illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kerley, Barbara. 2010. THE EXTRAORDINARY MARK TWAIN (ACCORDING TO SUSY). Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press.
ISBN 9780545125086
PLOT SUMMARY
In The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy), Barbara Kerley once again teams up with Edwin Fotheringham to bring another great book about a young subject and her famous father. This time, the story is of Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) through the eyes and notes of his oldest daughter, Susy Clemens. Despite its title, it is really the story of an unlikely biographer of one of America’s most beloved authors. At the age of thirteen, Susy Clemens secretly begins to write, in her opinion, a more comprehensive account of her famous father’s life. Based in large part on these writings, facts and anecdotes about both Mark Twain, his daughter, and their family are interwoven in this creative informational text.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
REVIEW EXCERPTS and AWARDS
¸2010 Cybils Award Winner Nonfiction Picture Books
¸2010 NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book
¸Kirkus Review Best Children’s Book: Non-Fiction (2010)
¸School Library Journal Best Books (2010)
¸Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Books (2010)
CONNECTIONS
In The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy), Barbara Kerley once again teams up with Edwin Fotheringham to bring another great book about a young subject and her famous father. This time, the story is of Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) through the eyes and notes of his oldest daughter, Susy Clemens. Despite its title, it is really the story of an unlikely biographer of one of America’s most beloved authors. At the age of thirteen, Susy Clemens secretly begins to write, in her opinion, a more comprehensive account of her famous father’s life. Based in large part on these writings, facts and anecdotes about both Mark Twain, his daughter, and their family are interwoven in this creative informational text.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Both Kerley and Fotheringham successfully give readers an extraordinarily informative book through their writing and illustrations.
Told chronologically, the story follows Susy, as she follows Papa (Twain), from the spring of 1885 to the summer of 1886, writing down her observations of her father and their family. Through these writings, the reader gets personal insight into the life of the Clemens family, despite Twain’s very public persona. Kerley brilliantly adds her own writing to further Susy’s life story, as well as her father’s. “Like Papa, Susy wrote and wrote, filling over 130 pages.” Fotheringham’s illustrations are whimsical and tie in perfectly to the text. The importance, or predominance, of words in the Clemens family is represented with scribbles and curlicues coming off papers and pens, or out of people’s mouths. Susy’s actual writings, excerpts from her journal including misspelling, are masterfully interwoven in the book through small, card-sized inserts labeled “Journal”. These, along with Fotheringham’s bold and often silly illustrations (the last page of the story shows Susy pulling Twain’s mustache out from a larger than life portrait while holding a giant pen), depict what life must have been like in the Clemens household – extra ordinary.
Additional resources in the back of the book include an Author’s Note about Papa and Susy Clemens, the author’s guide to writing an Extraordinary Biography, a selected timeline of the life of Mark Twain, and a list of quotation sources.
Told chronologically, the story follows Susy, as she follows Papa (Twain), from the spring of 1885 to the summer of 1886, writing down her observations of her father and their family. Through these writings, the reader gets personal insight into the life of the Clemens family, despite Twain’s very public persona. Kerley brilliantly adds her own writing to further Susy’s life story, as well as her father’s. “Like Papa, Susy wrote and wrote, filling over 130 pages.” Fotheringham’s illustrations are whimsical and tie in perfectly to the text. The importance, or predominance, of words in the Clemens family is represented with scribbles and curlicues coming off papers and pens, or out of people’s mouths. Susy’s actual writings, excerpts from her journal including misspelling, are masterfully interwoven in the book through small, card-sized inserts labeled “Journal”. These, along with Fotheringham’s bold and often silly illustrations (the last page of the story shows Susy pulling Twain’s mustache out from a larger than life portrait while holding a giant pen), depict what life must have been like in the Clemens household – extra ordinary.
Additional resources in the back of the book include an Author’s Note about Papa and Susy Clemens, the author’s guide to writing an Extraordinary Biography, a selected timeline of the life of Mark Twain, and a list of quotation sources.
Recommended for children ages 8 to 12, The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) is a delightful book.
REVIEW EXCERPTS and AWARDS
"An original." (Booklist, Dec. 2009)
"A heartwarming tribute to both the writing life in general and the well-loved humorist—oops, sorry Susy… ‘Pholosopher!’" (Kirkus Starred Review, Dec. 2009)
"…accessible and inventive vision of an American legend." (Publisher’s Weekly, Dec. 2009)
"A delightful primer on researching and writing biographies, and a joy to peruse." (School Library Journal Starred Review, Jan. 2010)
"Students will enjoy the sparse but rich text, Susy's diary inserts, and bold illustrations in digital media; they will definitely learn something new about the American icon that is Twain as well. Teachers will love the detailed Author's Notes and timeline of Twain’s life." (Library Media Connection, May/June 2010)
"A heartwarming tribute to both the writing life in general and the well-loved humorist—oops, sorry Susy… ‘Pholosopher!’" (Kirkus Starred Review, Dec. 2009)
"…accessible and inventive vision of an American legend." (Publisher’s Weekly, Dec. 2009)
"A delightful primer on researching and writing biographies, and a joy to peruse." (School Library Journal Starred Review, Jan. 2010)
"Students will enjoy the sparse but rich text, Susy's diary inserts, and bold illustrations in digital media; they will definitely learn something new about the American icon that is Twain as well. Teachers will love the detailed Author's Notes and timeline of Twain’s life." (Library Media Connection, May/June 2010)
¸2010 Cybils Award Winner Nonfiction Picture Books
¸2010 NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book
¸Kirkus Review Best Children’s Book: Non-Fiction (2010)
¸School Library Journal Best Books (2010)
¸Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Books (2010)
CONNECTIONS
Use this book to introduce students to, or demonstrate the power or benefits of, journaling or keeping a diary. To further the lesson, have students use this graphic organizer to help them write their own personal narratives.
Use this book among others to introduce students to biographies. After reading several biographies, students can use this graphic organizer from Time for Kids to research a famous author, athlete, politician, etc. and write their own biography. Also, consult the author’s guide to Writing an Extraordinary Biography (also found in the back of the book).
An alternate lesson would be to read several additional books about Mark Twain and compare and contrast how the different biographers depicted him using a Venn diagram.
Other books for children about keeping a journal or diary
Use this book among others to introduce students to biographies. After reading several biographies, students can use this graphic organizer from Time for Kids to research a famous author, athlete, politician, etc. and write their own biography. Also, consult the author’s guide to Writing an Extraordinary Biography (also found in the back of the book).
An alternate lesson would be to read several additional books about Mark Twain and compare and contrast how the different biographers depicted him using a Venn diagram.
Other books for children about keeping a journal or diary
--Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
--Writing Down the Days: 365 Creative Journaling Ideas for Young People by Lorraine M. Dahlstrom
--Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Other books for children about Mark Twain
--Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
--It's All About You: Writing Your Own Journal by Nancy Loewen
--Amelia's Notebook by Marissa Moss
--Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell
--Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell
Other books for children about Mark Twain
--The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman
--Bambino and Mr. Twain by P.I. Maltbie
--Who Was Mark Twain? by April Jones Prince
--Mark Twain for Kids: His Life & Times, 21 Activities by R. Kent Rasmussen
Other books for children by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.
--Those Rebels, John and Tom
--What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!
Visit Barbara Kerley's website and Ed Fotheringham's website.
Listen to Barbara Kerley talk about writing The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy).
--Bambino and Mr. Twain by P.I. Maltbie
--Who Was Mark Twain? by April Jones Prince
--Mark Twain for Kids: His Life & Times, 21 Activities by R. Kent Rasmussen
Other books for children by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.
--Those Rebels, John and Tom
--What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!
Visit Barbara Kerley's website and Ed Fotheringham's website.
Listen to Barbara Kerley talk about writing The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy).
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