Grade 8 Up–In this clear and lively biography, Caravantes discusses her subject's childhood adventures in Missouri, which later became the basis for his short stories and novels. Throughout his life, he loved to travel and wrote many detailed letters from the road, which were often printed in various newspapers. He earned his river pilot's license and navigated the Mississippi River, taking the pen name of Mark Twain from a nautical expression. The author recounts how Clemens's wife and four children were important parts of his life and describes the period of deep depression he suffered after the deaths of his wife and two daughters. His financial struggles brought on by faulty investments and failed inventions are also mentioned. The author offers a straightforward chronological glimpse of the man behind the larger-than-life legend of Mark Twain.
