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Library | Material Type | Call Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
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Searching... Branch | Juvenile Book | J B SENNE, M | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Branch | Juvenile Book | J B SENNETT | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Central | Book | J B SE58B | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Mack Sennett invented the Keystone Kops, filmed the first pie-in-the-face skit, and introduced Charlie Chaplin to the movies. Here Don Brown tells the story of this American movie genius, from his beginnings as a Vaudeville actor to his triumph as the "King of Comedy"
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Mack Sennett's lifetime (1880-1960) spanned enormous changes in the entertainment industry, and he was one of the "movers and shakers" when motion pictures were first becoming popular. He always wanted to be involved in entertainment, and even started out as the rear-end of a horse. He moved scenery, sang a little, danced poorly, and worked his way up. When motion pictures were invented, he decided the medium was perfect for slapstick comedy. His films introduced the Keystone Kops, Charlie Chaplin, and the pie in the face gag. Don Brown's picture book biography (Roaring Brook, 2003) pays homage to film industry pioneer. Listeners will enjoy George Guidall's rich voice as he reads the interesting and often humorous text. Brown's soft sepia-tone pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations reflect the same touches of humor. This is a fun biography of a person who is probably unfamiliar to the target audience.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"With the clipped, staccato delivery of a vaudeville act, this breezy narrative unspools the biography of Mack Sennett, who started out as the hindquarters of a horse and wound up the head of a major Hollywood studio," wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 5-9. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Brown's previous picture-book biographies (Uncommon Traveler, rev. 9/00; Across a Dark and Wild Sea, rev. 5/02) are as appealing as they are accurate; his latest, about pioneering director/producer Mack Sennett, father of silent-movie slapstick comedy, is no exception. The sepia illustrations, executed in a cartoonlike style, are perfectly suited to the subject and tone of the accompanying narrative, which opens with Sennett's vaudeville debut as the rear end of a horse. Sennett's dreams of a career in the theater, his early struggles as a performer, and his transition to filmmaking are carefully summarized. His success in blending his vaudeville experience with the technical demands of the new medium is amply explained, including a flip-the-pages dancing dog that illustrates how the illusion of movement is achieved through a series of still pictures. How Mack moved to Hollywood, built his studio (including an observation post equipped with a bathtub), and developed a stable of comedians who are still regarded as classic figures in cinema history--Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, the Keystone Kops--is expertly compressed into the short text. Informative and fun to read, this is an appealing and original glimpse into a significant aspect of American culture. With an author's note and bibliography. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Brown (Far Beyond the Garden Gate, 2002, etc.) moves forthrightly into more words and more detailed images in this picture-book biography of filmmaker Mack Sennett. Brown has more muscle and verve in these pictures than in his beautiful but understated biographies of women; what could be more appropriate for Sennett, who began his career in entertainment by playing the rear half of a horse on stage? From slapstick comedy, he moved to a job with the Biograph movie company on 14th Street in NY City on his 29th birthday in 1909. Sennett did everything from carrying cameras to directing. He wanted to translate the physical comedy of vaudeville to the movies and so he moved to California and founded Keystone Pictures where he made 140 movies his first year. He created the Keystone Kops, filmed the first pie-in-the-face routine, and hired Charlie Chaplin. The quotes in the text come from Sennett himself, and Brown adds a little dog to the corners of the pages, so readers can flip the pages to see the dog move, just like in the movies. Brown distills an amazing amount of information into a true economy of storyline, making this particular bit of movie history accessible for young readers. He uses a limited palette of ochre, browns, and grays to give a vintage look to his winsome images. Pair this with Brown's Across a Dark and Wild Sea (2002), his biography of the scribe St. Columba, for a remarkable story time about books and movies. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 1^-4. Using his inimitable picture-book-biography style, Brown turns a camera's eye on film pioneer Mack Sennett. The opening line sets the stage for this witty, fascinating profile of the King of Comedy: "In 1900, twenty-year-old Mack Sennett was a horse's rear end." It was "a silly role in a foolish skit on a shabby Manhattan stage, but it was his stage debut and Mack dreamed of being a show business star." In concise, brilliantly understated text, Brown recounts how Sennett broke into the new entertainment business, how he applied slapstick techniques from Vaudeville to the movies, how his Keystone Kops became the hit of silent pictures, and how he introduced Charlie Chaplin to the world. Especially fine in conveying facial expression, Brown's spare, fluid sketches, softly washed in sepia and butterscotch tones, cunningly capture the look of the times. A tiny sketch of a dog dancing appears in the lower right-hand corner of each spread, forming a miniature flipbook, and boxed quotes spliced into the scenes add bits of Sennett's droll personality. A one-page author's note provides a wide-angle view of Sennett, followed by a seven-book bibliography of adult books. From its alliterative title and a narrative as precise as comic timing, to a cinematic beginning that spotlights Sennett donning the horse suit, this is like watching a pie-in-the-face routine; it simply smacks with delight. Ingeniously staged and picture perfect, it's Brown's best book yet. --Julie Cummins