Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World [Hardcover]

Sid Fleischman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2010 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

See him? That little tramp twitching a postage stamp of a mustache, politely lifting his bowler hat, and leaning on a bamboo cane with the confidence of a gentleman? A slapstick comedian, he blazed forth as the brightest movie star in the Hollywood heavens.

Everyone knew Charlie—Charlie Chaplin.

When he was five years old he was pulled onstage for the first time, and he didn't step off again for almost three-quarters of a century. Escaping the London slums of his tragic childhood, he took Hollywood like a conquistador with a Cockney accent. With his gift for pantomime in films that had not yet acquired vocal cords, he was soon rubbing elbows with royalty and dining on gold plates in his own Beverly Hills mansion. He was the most famous man on earth—and he was regarded as the funniest.

Still is. . . . He comes to life in these pages. It's an astonishing rags-to-riches saga of an irrepressible kid whose childhood was dealt from the bottom of the deck. Abundantly illustrated.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5 Up—This lively and engaging account of a poor Cockney boy who became the world's greatest silent-movie comedian is a must for biography collections. By the age of six, Chaplin was fending for himself in London's slums, evading the workhouse as his mother checked in and out of mental institutions. He spent a few miserable months with his inebriated father and stepmother, who made an unwitting contribution to his future career: by observing them, Charlie was able to perfect his impression of the stumbling drunk, which won him many laughs in his early days on the stage. He developed his slapstick talents with a traveling comedy troupe, found his way to Hollywood, and immortalized himself as the Little Tramp, the darling character of the silent movie era. The book explores his rise to mind-boggling fame, and his fall from grace as he was touched by scandal, investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and eventually deported. Brief, easily digestible chapters, an extensive time line, and plenty of photos make the book's well-researched content accessible and appealing. Add to that Fleischman's playful narrative tone and you have a book as entertaining as Sir Charlie himself.—Emma Burkhart, Springside School, Philadelphia, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Following well-received titles about Mark Twain and Harry Houdini, Fleischman's third biography is a bittersweet celebration: it is the last book the author published before his death, in March 2010. With a straightforward chronology, the chapters follow the famous comedian from his impoverished childhood in London slums through Hollywood stardom and his final years, when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. As in his previous books about famous lives, Fleischman infuses the narrative with energetic charm, and although the book is thoroughly documented with exemplary source notes, playful metaphors lend an almost tall-tale tone that echoes the humor of Chaplin's work: “Custard pies were flying,” Fleischman writes in a description of the tangled movie business. The author also deftly integrates details of early moviemaking into the colorful accounts of Chaplin's tumultuous personal and professional lives, and he writes with unabashed enthusiasm for Chaplin's work: of the chase scene in The Kid, he writes, “If one can watch the sequence without tear ducts overflowing and heart in throat, one needs jumper cables.” Young people with a noncurricular interest in Chaplin may be few, but once led to this fascinating, well-shaped, and entertaining title, they may well discover a curiosity about and appreciation for the films that made the great comedian famous. Photos and a time line complete this standout portrait. Grades 6-10. --Gillian Engberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (June 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061896403
• ISBN-13: 978-0061896408
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #758,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars great, January 17, 2012

By 

helloritzy (new york city) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World (Hardcover)

great product, it arrived as promised. I got it as a christmas present for my father, who's a huge chaplin fan and he loved it.