R. Kent Rasmussen - Mark Twain for Kids: His Life & Times, 21 Activities

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Rasmussen, R. Kent.
Mark Twain for kids : his life and times,
21 activities / R. Kent Rasmussen.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55652-527-3

1. Twain, Mark, 18351910Juvenile literature. 2. Authors, American19th centuryBiography

Juvenile literature. I. Title.
PS1331.R375 2004
8189.409dc22 2004003529

COVER AND INTERIOR DESIGN: Monica Baziuk

INTERIOR PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS: pages from Illustrated London News, June 1907.

2004 by R. Kent Rasmussen
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 1-55652-527-3
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1

To Bill Erwin, the youngest kid I know,
and to Zane Shaorui Rasmussen, who is even younger

Index

The trouble aint that there is too many fools, but that the lightning aint distributed right.

MARK TWAIN

T HE MOST PLEASANT TASK that any author faces is acknowledging the help he has received. I should begin by thanking those who have contributed to my work on Mark Twain, but their number is so great that I cannot name them all. Instead, Ill merely mention the people most directly involved with the present book: Gerilee Hundt, who first suggested it; my agent, Julie Castiglia; and my editor, Cynthia Sherry, whose enthusiastic support has been unflagging. Im also grateful to Monica Baziuk, who is responsible for the books beautiful design, and Linda Gray, the books able copyeditor. Very special thanks also go to Barbara Schmidt and Kevin Bochyn-ski, who read drafts of my manuscript and were ever on handas they always areto answer questions and provide encouragement.

Since this book is for children, I think it appropriate to mention that my interest in Mark Twain goes back to the sad moment my grandfather Alma Rasmussen died and bequeathed to our family a big set of Mark Twain books. From the time I was eight years old until I went to college, I felt privileged to have those books grace a shelf in the bedroom I shared with my brother. Those books advanced my interest in literature and ensured that Mark Twain would always have a special place in my heart. To any parents reading these words, I cannot overstate the importance of book ownership in your childrens education. Had my grandfather not left us his books, you would not be holding Mark Twain for Kids in your hands right now. Thank you, Grandpa!

1835 Samuel Langhorne Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, is born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30

1836 Texas proclaims its independence from Mexico

1837 Victoria becomes queen of Great Britain

1839 Clemens family moves to Hannibal, Missouri

184648 United States-Mexican War

1849 California gold rush begins

1853 Sam works as a printer in eastern cities

18571861 Sam pilots steamboats on the Mississippi River

1859 Gold is discovered in western Nevada

1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected president

18611865 Civil War

1861 Sam goes to Nevada with his brother Orion

1862 Sam becomes a reporter in Virginia City

1863 Sam begins using Mark Twain as his pen name

1864 Sam moves to San Francisco

1866 Sam goes to Hawaii

1867 Sam sails to Europe and the Holy Land on the Quaker City

The United States buys Alaska from Russia

1868 Ulysses S. Grant is elected president

1869 Sam publishes The Innocents Abroad; he becomes part owner of the Buffalo Express

First transcontinental railroad is completed

1870 Sam marries Olivia Langdon on February 2

1871 Sam and Olivia move to Hartford, Connecticut

1872 Sams first daughter is born; he publishes Roughing It

1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is published

18781879 Sam and his family visit Europe

1880 A Tramp Abroad is published

1881 The Prince and the Pauper is published

1882 Sam revisits the Mississippi River

1883 Life on the Mississippi is published

1884 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published

1889 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court is published

18911900 Sam lives abroad with his family

1894 Puddnhead Wilson and Tom Sawyer Abroad are published

18951896 Sam undertakes an around-the-world lecture tour

1896 Sams daughter Susy dies; Tom Sawyer, Detective and PersonalReflections of Joan of Arc are published

1897 Following the Equator is published

1898 Spanish-American War

United States annexes Hawaii

18991902 South African War

1900 Sam returns to the United States with his family

1901 Queen Victoria dies

1904 Olivia dies

1907 Sam receives an honorary Oxford University degree

1908 Sam settles in Redding, Connecticut

1910 Sam dies at his Redding home on April 21

Let us swear while we may, for in heaven it will not be allowed.

MARK TWAIN

I T HAS BEEN NEARLY 100 YEARS since Samuel Langhorne Clemensthe man best remembered as Mark Twaindied. During his last years, he ranked as one of the most famous and beloved people of his time. Through four decades, people around the world had read and laughed at his books and stories and roared with delight at his public speeches. By the turn of the 20th century, his face was more widely recognized than those of most U.S. presidents.