Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi

In her standard approach, combining text, realistic art and maps annotated with historical information, Harness (Ghosts of the White House) presents a spotty portrait of Mark Twain and the majestic river that inspired much of his writing. The opening history of the area surrounding the Mississippi River devolves into meandering sentences that readers may find difficult to navigate (e.g., ""As far back as three thousand years ago, people in the valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers were building big burial mounds, and the river people built some of North America's first cities, such as Cahokia in what is now called Illinois""). Harness sometimes strains to interweave the story of Samuel Clemens's life and career with that of the stately steamboats' heyday. The connection is initially obvious: as a youngster, Clemens watches the steamboat operators in awe--and with envy; later he works as a pilot on the Mississippi until the outbreak of the Civil War. But as Clemens's exploits take him far from its shores, the book skips haphazardly between highlights of his life, both personal and professional, and key developments on the river where steamboats were being usurped by the more efficient railroads. The twain do meet at story's end, yet the split focus makes for a fragmented narrative that gives neither the renowned novelist nor the Queens of the Mississippi their due. Harness's detailed, energetic watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations supply a vitality and focus missing from the text. Ages 6-10. (Nov.)