"Joy was not the raw material of humor . . . The dark source was sorrow."
— Sid Fleischman (The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West)

"Words were a conjuration, and their charms had begun to bewitch him."
— Sid Fleischman (The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West)

"The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -- they have a special impact. Paragraph after paragraph and page after page, the author must deliver his or her best work."
— Sid Fleischman