Fleischman, who died in March at age 90, left readers with this delightful and informative homage to one of his idols, the silent screen star who went into exile in 1952. "Chaplin had left town... to take up residence in Switzerland. But his footprints were everywhere." Those footprints turned "outward so that each angled off like opposite hands of a clock, at ten past ten," the duck-footed waddle of the Little Tramp, Chaplin's most famous character. Fleischman fills out the familiar outlines of Chaplin's biography--born to Dickensian poverty in England, he scaled the heights of Hollywood fame--in jocular prose and without sugarcoating. Chaplin's gift for mimicry got him laughs "without uttering a word," but he badly misread the tea leaves when "talkies" arrived, and his egomaniacal methods alienated co-stars, collaborators, and three of his four wives. Like Fleischman's biographies of Twain and Houdini, this book is as good-looking as it is well written, with b&w photographs, vintage newspaper clippings, source notes, and a filmography that should send many in search of the silent film gems that made Chaplin one of America's first movie stars. Ages 9-up. (June)
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World
Narrated by Fred Sullivan
Sid FleischmanUnabridged — 3 hours, 41 minutes
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World
Narrated by Fred Sullivan
Sid FleischmanUnabridged — 3 hours, 41 minutes
Overview
With the same gusto, humor, and dazzling description that light up his fiction, Sid Fleischman produced a quartet of books profiling figures whose talents set the world abuzz-including this one of Charlie Chaplin.
There he was, 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 Chaplin.
Abandoned by his alcoholic father, neglected by a mother fighting insanity, Charlie Chaplin had escaped the London slums of his tragic childhood and gone on to take 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.
Yet Chaplin rose from the slums to the heights only to be driven from the country that had brought him worldwide fame. Never were tragedy and comedy so inextricably mixed as in his too-outlandish-for-fiction life, told with Sid Fleischman's trademark wit and verve.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for The Trouble Begins at 8: “Highly enjoyable . . . No worthier Twain bio will cross a child’s path than this feisty tale.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Engaging.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Sets a standard few can meet: it is top-notch entertainment.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for Escape!: “[Fleischman’s] rendering of the great Houdini is full-bodied and fresh, exuberant yet probing, meticulous and, yes, magical.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Fleischman does the story of Houdini justice with an accessible, witty, and fascinating ride that is sure to draw in the skeptical and the admiring alike.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“A feat that’s pure magic.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Fleischman’s unabashed adoration for the duck-footed comedian, filmmaker and movie star effervesces from this fascinating, generously illustrated biography.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[A] standout portrait.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Delightful and informative…this book is as good-looking as it is well written.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A book as entertaining as Sir Charlie himself.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“A solid success.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Will appeal to fans of movie history and surely inspire readers to seek out Chaplin’s films.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
Praise for Escape!: “[Fleischman’s] rendering of the great Houdini is full-bodied and fresh, exuberant yet probing, meticulous and, yes, magical.
[A] standout portrait.
Fleischman does the story of Houdini justice with an accessible, witty, and fascinating ride that is sure to draw in the skeptical and the admiring alike.
A solid success.
Will appeal to fans of movie history and surely inspire readers to seek out Chaplin’s films.
A solid success.
Praise for Escape!: “[Fleischman’s] rendering of the great Houdini is full-bodied and fresh, exuberant yet probing, meticulous and, yes, magical.
Fleischman does the story of Houdini justice with an accessible, witty, and fascinating ride that is sure to draw in the skeptical and the admiring alike.
"[A] standout portrait."
A solid success.
Will appeal to fans of movie history and surely inspire readers to seek out Chaplin’s films.
Fred Sullivan instantly creates an emotionally engaging connection with the listener in this eye-opening and affectionate biography of Charlie Chaplin for children. Sullivan’s soft-spoken voice reveals the bittersweet sources of inspiration for Chaplin’s famous moves, such as the stumbling modeled by his drunkard father. Well-placed pauses emphasize the moments of heartache, tenderness, and joy as Chaplin is repeatedly separated from and reunited with his brother and beloved mother. Sullivan’s deft timing is best seen in his narration of Chaplin’s intricately choreographed and often slapstick sequences, which make Chaplin’s every flick of the wrist and facial expression easy to visualize. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Fleischman's unabashed adoration for the duck-footed comedian, filmmaker and movie star effervesces from this fascinating, generously illustrated biography. How a nearly illiterate Cockney boy born to London vaudevillians in 1889 became a Hollywood movie mogul is truly one for the storybooks. The author is almost giddy in the telling, as if Chaplin's flair for hyperbole and comic timing were contagious. When discussing Chaplin's artistic perfectionism in demanding 100 retakes of a particular kissing scene, for example, the author quips, "The heroine went through enough lipstick to paint a small house." Chaplin was an ambitious man who spent his life compensating for the poverty of his childhood, but his adulthood-despite the phenomenal fame and fortune that accompanied it-was complicated and often tragic. Movie-history buffs will learn about the effect of "talkies" on the silent-film industry, and on the pantomime master's ego. Further exploration of Chaplin's classic films, from The Kid (1921) to Modern Times (1936), is a must after finishing this colorful homage to "the funniest man on earth." (timeline, references, photograph sources, bibliography, filmography, index) (Biography. 10 & up)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169544503 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 11/01/2012 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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