Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Samuel Longhorn Clemens better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. After an apprenticeship with a printer, Twain worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to the newspaper of his older brother, Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. He is celebrated as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". Crystal S. Chan is an award-winning author and television screen play writer. She holds a degree in language and literature. Crystal is a huge fan of authors such as Jane Austen and she is equally passionate about Sailor Moon. Her passion for classic literature combined with her love of the comics medium allows her to strike a solid balance between preserving the depth of the original content while adapting the language for a younger generation. Kuma Chan is veteran of the manga industry. His works include a manga series for the Pirate Sentai Gokaiger (AKA Power Rangers Megaforce in the US). With over 13 years of work in comics, Kuma is well known for his specialties with drawing girls, robots, and monsters. When he is not drawing manga (which is nearly all the time!) he enjoys reading novels. His name “KUMA” actually means bear in Japanese. Kuma says he chose his pen-name because his body shape resembles that of a bear.

Gr 7 Up –This installment of the series takes on Twain’s subversive adventure of a boy named Huckleberry Finn and a runaway slave named Jim. After faking his own murder to escape his drunken father’s cruelty, Huck flees on a raft with Jim along the Mississippi River. What begins as a reasonably harmonious life for the two is soon disrupted by the Duke and the King, two crooks who commandeer the raft. As the group struggle in their attempted cons, Huck faces moral dilemmas. He decides he must do the right thing and use his wits to find the way to freedom with Jim. Character designs are clean, attractive, and distinguishable. While the art tones down graphic scenes (the King and Duke’s punishment is depicted in silhouette; the fallout of a shooting is bloodless), the dialogue is mostly faithful to the original text. There are some helpful resources throughout, such as an explanation of the dialects, a guide to the differences between this adaptation and the source material, and a chart on how to read manga. VERDICT This strong adaptation stays true to Twain’s satirical storytelling while also turning it into a digestible introduction for readers. Use it to help students think critically about race and class.