“A survey of the life of Charlie Chaplin written in an arcane vocabulary ("fisticuffery") that will be indecipherable to most young readers. Fleischman's persistent use of rhetorical questions ("Hannah? Wasn't that the name of his mother?") is a repeated annoyance, as are errors in usage ("conscious-stricken housebreaker") and facts (Fleischman brands Lady Astor, the first woman to serve in England's Parliament, as a Fascist and Hitler supporter; in fact, according to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Astor refused an opportunity to meet Hitler and said, "I am neither a Communist or a Fascist ... I loathe all Dictatorships whether of the Russian or the German type--They are all equally cruel"). The book ends with a timeline that lacks parallel structure, references that include Wikipedia, and an annotated filmography and bibliography that are insufficiently informative (one book is described only as "rhapsodic"; one Chaplin film is described only as "Funny!"). Sir Charlie and young readers deserve better.
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