Original story by Mark Twain

I’m not sure why we chose to read these books out of order—that’s not normal for me—but my kids and I followed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with this, the Illustrated Classics Edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. If we had to choose a favorite between the two, I think we enjoyed Huck more than Tom, but it was a very close race.

My kids are a mere 6 and 7, so to feed them a nightly taste of murder and other fearful situations—like getting lost in a cave with a murderer!—is risky, yet it’s also quite rewarding. Reading (at minimum) bedtime stories with your children is an essential part of parenting, and sometimes a parent needs to set aside the fluffy bunnies and happy cars in favor of human kids facing real-life problems. Mark Twain is a fantastic source for such tales.

Mark Twain’s stories are classics, and few would argue that point. But for me to read these stories again with fresh eyes and with the fresh ears of my kids has helped me to respond to the dilemmas of these rascal boys when the happen, rather than anticipating them. This method of reading and dealing with the questionable scenarios as they arose resembles much the daily practice of parenting, and it’s an excellent training ground for my kids to learn how to process issues on their own in the future.

I enjoyed Deirde S. Laiken’s adaptation of both this story and Huckleberry Finn. She includes enough dialogue to keep the story flowing, and I found myself even reading Huckleberry Finn with a heavy Heartland accent, not quite Southern but close. Because my kids rarely get a chance to hear proper American accents, I thought that added a whole lot of life to our reading as well.

Next on the docket for out Illustrated Classics Edition is King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, a selection made by my six-year-old daughter, because she loves princesses. I hope Guinevere doesn’t disappoint!

©2018 E.T.