The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780061344312)

"Mark Twain was born fully grown, with a cheap cigar clamped between his teeth." So begins Sid Fleischman's ramble-scramble biography of the great American author and wit, who started life in a Missouri village as a barefoot boy named Samuel Clemens.

Abandoning a career as a young steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, Sam took a bumpy stagecoach to the Far West. In the gold and silver fields, he expected to get rich quick. Instead, he got poor fast, digging in the wrong places. His stint as a sagebrush newspaperman led to a duel with pistols. Had he not survived, the world would never have heard of Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn--or red-headed Mark Twain.

Samuel Clemens adopted his pen name in a hotel room in San Francisco and promptly made a jumping frog (and himself) famous. His celebrated novels followed at a leisurely pace; his quips at jet speed. "Don't let schooling interfere with your education," he wrote.

Here, in high style, is the story of a wisecracking adventurer who came of age in the untamed West; an ink-stained rebel who surprised himself by becoming the most famous American of his time. Bountifully illustrated.

Author: Sid Fleischman
ISBN-10: 0061344311
ISBN-13: 9780061344312
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Language: English
Published: 08/01/2008
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.04lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.48w x 0.98d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.5
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 124428 / Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West

Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: Spur Awards - Finalist

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 06/01/2008 pg. 599
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2008 pg. 170 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Publishers Weekly 06/16/2008 pg. 49
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2008 pg. 466 - Recommended
Booklist 06/01/2008 pg. 100
School Library Journal 07/01/2008 pg. 111
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2008 pg. 609
SLJ's Best Books 12/01/2008 pg. 37
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2009 - Superior,Well Above Average
ALA Best Books Young Adults 03/15/2009 pg. 8
ALA Notable Children's Books 03/15/2009 pg. 25