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(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Erin E. Stead.
From Twain's notes on a bedtime tale spun for his children, Philip Stead develops a folktale-like story full of nonsense. It involves the orphaned Johnny (illustrated as African American), his pet chicken, a handful of blue seeds, and a life-expanding journey. The story maintains wry humor throughout and provides timely commentary on human nature. Erin Stead's pictures invite a child's contemplation of tiny but meaningful details.
Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2017
16 pp.
| Enchanted Lion
| April, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-59270-129-2$14.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Vladimir Radunsky.
Using a mock professorial tone, Twain offers advice about how little girls should behave (e.g., "If at any time you find it necessary to correct your brother, do not correct him with mud"). The text is amusing, but the format is slightly off-putting: big blocks of text are paired with sketch-like illustrations of people who often look unhappy and angry.
241 pp.
| Sterling
| March, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4027-6762-3$19.95
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Robert Ingpen.
This beautifully designed new edition is just in time for the centenary of Twain's death. Readers familiar with Tom Sawyer's exploits will enjoy revisiting familiar scenes and characters while those new to this beloved classic will laugh aloud as Tom gallivants with Huckleberry Finn and pines after the charming Becky Thatcher. Ingpen's delicate illustrations are full of beauty, magic, and mischief.
223 pp.
| Sterling
| December, 2004
|
TradeISBN 1-4027-1460-2$9.95
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Scott McKowen.
Twain's 1876 classic about the cheerfully incorrigible mischief-making everyboy is published in an unabridged edition featuring elegant (if not particularly engaging) scratchboard-drawing chapter headers and a ribbon bookmark.
349 pp.
| Kingfisher
| September, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-7534-5478-5$$15.95
(4)
4-6
Kingfisher Classics series.
Illustrated by
Claire Fletcher.
The unabridged text of Twain's classic story is presented in a large typeface with plenty of white space. The squarish volume features a few pleasant, though unremarkable, ink and wash illustrations and a new foreword by Katherine Paterson.