Welcome to Humbug Mountain. Little did Wiley, the son of a traveling newspaperman, imagine that the search for his grandfather would lead him into the hands of those nasty villains of the West-Shagnasty John and the Fool Killer. Using their newspaper, The Humbug Mountain Hoorah, Wiley and his sister and mother go about outwitting the outlaws in their scheme to ambush Grandfather's new boat and its cargo of gold.
Jingo Hawks is out of luck when Mrs. Daggatt from the orphan house hires him out as a chimney sweep to the awful General Dirty-Face Scurlock. But it's gypsy luck that puts Jingo into the right chimney and then into the care of the mysterious Mr. Peacock, who claims to know Jingo's scoundrel father. Together they set out on a treasure hunt for buried gold. But they are not alone-those nasty gold diggers Mrs. Daggatt and General Scurlock are hot on their trail.
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. 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. He comes to life in this astonishing rags-to-riches saga of an irrepressible kid whose childhood was dealt from the bottom of the deck.
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 redheaded 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.
“Fleischman nearly channels Mark Twain’s voice, making great use of his subject’s wit to contextualize his place in American letters…colorful detail.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Nothing could hold him! He was the Escape King! He was The Great Houdini! But before that he was Ehrich Weiss, a poor immigrant boy with big dreams. Before long he was reinventing himself by making elephants disappear (among other illusions) and perfecting his escapes from chains, handcuffs and straightjackets. This witty and insightful biography by Newbery Award Winner Sid Fleischman tells as much as it dares! Recommended for Grades 4 and up.
Just after World War II ex G.I. Freddie T. Birch finds his ventriloquist act taking a turn for the weird when he is possessed by the spirit of Avrom Amos, a twelve-year-old Jewish boy killed by the Nazis. Fortunately for Freddie, Avrom is not merely a ghost, he's a comical one, with sharp theatrical training-exactly what's needed to liven up the act.
What do you do when your mother disappears and a strange man starts stalking you? If you're Kevin and Holly Kidd, you try to lose yourself in the wacky world of Venice Beach, California, where boardwalk entertainers do everything from juggling watermelons to telling fortunes to try to make a living. Soon Kevin and Holly find themselves making a new home among these larger-than-life characters. But just when Holly seems set to achieve her dream of starring in an opera, the Toad reappears, more menacing than ever. How can Kevin save the show-and his sister? Join the Full Cast Family for a delightful romp as they bring Sid Fleischman's funny, fast paced, suspenseful novel of two young people on the run to new life on audio.
One of Newbery Medalist Sid Fleischman's most beloved books, this rip-snortin' saga of a young man and his butler bound for California during the great Gold Rush was just made to be read by a full cast. Our collection of coots, codgers, geezers, and outlaws will have you laughing out loud-when you're not holding your breath in suspense!
