Pocket Bios: Charlie Chaplin

Pocket Bios: Charlie ChaplinCharlie Chaplin by Al Berenger
Published by Roaring Brook Press on July 17th 2018
ISBN: 1250166233
Pages: 32
Goodreads
four-stars

The “Pocket Bios” series comes from France. The Charlie Chaplin biography was written by Patricia Crété and has been translated into English by Catherine Nolan. Illustrations are by Bruno Wennagel, Mathieu Ferret, Aurélien Fernandez, and Aurélie Verdon. This book provides a concise and easy to read biography of Charlie Chaplin, from the beginning of his life in London through his success in film, multiple marriages, and death in 1977. The illustrations are humorous and are my favorite part of the book. The book is historically accurate (at least as far as basic knowledge about Charlie Chaplin goes) and provides a lot of interesting information geared towards a PreK to 2nd grade level. I also enjoyed the timeline, map with important places in his life, and “People to Know” in Chaplins life that are included at the end of the book. This reminds me very much of the Brian Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos “I Am” series. If you have a Juvenile Biography section at your library or a child who is very interested in learning about historical figures, I would consider purchasing this book.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

four-stars