Who Was Mark Twain? [Library Binding]

April Jones Prince (Author), John O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 2004 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

A humorist, narrator, and social observer, Mark Twain is unsurpassed in American literature. Best known as the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, not unlike his protagonist, Huck, has a restless spirit. He found adventure prospecting for silver in Nevada, navigating steamboats down the Mississippi, and making people laugh around the world. But Twain also had a serious streak and decried racism and injustice. His fascinating life is captured candidly in this enjoyable biography.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 112 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (May 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448435373
• ISBN-13: 978-0448435374
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,665,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When April Jones Prince was in first grade, she decided she wanted to be an archaeologist. "I envisioned myself digging up precious historical artifacts and living in a palace," she says. "Obviously, I didn't know much about the accommodations of archaeologists in the field!" She did know that she was curious about the details of the past--what people did, ate, and wore. "I grew up fascinated by these things. My mom is a costume historian and my dad is practically a walking history book, so maybe it was inevitable."

April was also fascinated by books, ideas, and stories. As a child, she loved reading and being read to. When she grew older, April realized she also loved to write. Even back then, her work had a strong nonfiction bent. "I secretly enjoyed writing research papers in school," she admits. "In college I was a journalism major, and I loved that too. But journalistic writing is so practical--nothing as romantic as being a novelist or poet! Perhaps for that reason, I never really thought of myself as a writer until I began writing for children."

Today, April feels she has found the perfect vocation: writing about history for young people. "I love taking tantalizing people or 'nuggets' from history and weaving them into stories that are exciting and engaging for children," she says. April enjoys both the writing, and the research. "The research stage is exciting and unpredictable. In a way, I guess it's my own kind of archaeology--digging up old documents and visiting the nooks and crannies of historical sites and museums. I certainly experience an archaeologist's thrill of discovery."

April finds a special delight in creating books for young readers. "The books we love as children affect us like no other books we read in our lifetimes--they stay with us and shape us. Plus, they give kids the perfect opportunity to crawl into the lap of someone who loves them and listen to a good story. What could be better?"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of Mark Twains Life., August 2, 2004

By 

wantabee teacher "Amy" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Was Mark Twain? (Library Binding)

I enjoyed this book because I found out a great deal of important information about Mark Twain in a way that was easy to read and understand. I think this book is great at getting children interested in this famous author. I enjoyed the pictures as they showed the images of that time period. I also liked that there were maps and background information about historical events during Mark Twains life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, May 9, 2008

By 

C. R. "homeschool mom" (S.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Was Mark Twain?: Who Was? (Paperback)

I bought this book for my 10 year old reluctant reader. Most of the time she'll only read a few pages of chapter books. This book she didn't put down until she had read the whole thing! I will definately be buying more books in the " Who is ...?" series!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Granddaughter enjoyed reading about Mark Twain's life., May 31, 2009

By 

D. Tal (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Who Was Mark Twain?: Who Was? (Paperback)

I bought this book for my 8-year-old granddaughter because she had been reading some of Mark Twain's stories which had been edited for younger readers, and my daughter told me that she was really enjoying them. Here is her review of "Who Was Mark Twain?".
Dear Grandma,
I really loved the book about Mark Twain. It was kind of sad towards the end, but that kind of gave the moral to the story. In the old times, people got very sick. I liked the beginning especially, because it told about when Mark Twain was a boy. I learned about Halley's Comet. It was fun and interesting. His stories were based on his own life. So now you can see that I liked it a lot!!
Thank you for giving me this book. It was great!
Love,
Laurel