Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World - Hardcover

Fleischman, Sid

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061896403 ISBN 13: 9780061896408

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Sid Fleischman wrote more than sixty books for children, adults, and magicians. Among his many awards was the Newbery Medal for his novel The Whipping Boy. The author described his wasted youth as a magician and newspaperman in his autobiography The Abracadabra Kid. His other titles include The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, a novel, and three biographies, Sir Charlie: Chaplin, The Funniest Man in the World; The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West; and Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini.

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0061896403
• ISBN 13: 9780061896408
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288