Original story by Mark Twain 

The Illustrated Classics series is slowly becoming one of my kids’ favorite bedtime traditions. While these books might have been created for early readers to enjoy on their own, they’ve proved to be an excellent family read, for as I read the words on one page, my daughter (5) studies the opposing pictures, and my son’s eyes flit back and forth from text to illustrations.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a bit surprising to me, to be honest. Truth be told, this was one of my first tastes of Mark Twain (save for short stories in high school and college), and while I knew that Tom Sawyer contained murder and lies galore, I hadn’t anticipated the violence and skulduggery of this follow-up. I read it entirely to my kids, but I found myself having to answer a whole ton of questions, far more than I had anticipated.

Everyone knows Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. They’re two of America’s greatest fictional children. Yet isn’t anyone else a bit surprised that, in this culture of censorship and snowflakes, Mark Twain’s characters haven’t already been written off as misfits best worth forgetting? I mean, I would never sign that petition, but as I read this book to my kids, they and I both were shocked at the blood, the thievery, the cheating, the smoking. These characters are kids and their genre is a kids’ book! But oh, what an adventure they have, so who am I to complain?

Really, each chapter provided an excellent opportunity for me to introduce my kids to some of the harsh realities of the Real World, but in a childlike, innocent sort of way. Most kids today lack shelter (and I view “shelter” as a positive thing), so Huckleberry Finn to them is probably insanely innocent. And actually, as I write this I’m struck by the inconsistency of American culture today: whereas violent video games are the norm, even for toddlers, the mere mention of a racial slur in a century-old book could cause it to be censored off the shelves of some university library. Who’s monitoring these situations anyhow? Regardless, I thank God for the chance to walk my kids through scenarios like those presented by Twain, and to help them think through the dangers of our fallen world.

I found myself reading this entire book with a southern accent, which is something my kids rarely get to hear. I think I did all right with it, despite my Midwest upbringing, and I think I’ll try to add such flare to whatever book I read to them next.

I certainly enjoyed this book, and I felt that I got as caught up in this one as they did. There was many a night this week that I fell for the “just one more chapter!” plea, and I bet you’ll do the same. Go out and enjoy it.

©2018 E.T.