REFLECTIONS - New "Sanitized" Edition of Huckleberry Finn to be Published

Earlier this week, while delivering papers, I noticed a headline announcing a new "sanitized" edition of the classic "Huckleberry Finn" was in the works.  Then today, when we were driving to Lloydminster (the semi had to be taken to the repair shop and after dropping it off, John needed a ride home), I was listening to Cross Country Check-Up on CBC with Rex Murphy.  The topic for discussion was this new book and what people thought about it.  Murphy talked to Suzanne La Rosa, the publisher of the new edition, as well as various teachers, English professors, young people currently studying the book -- the whole gamut.

A few years ago, for my Father's birthday, we went to the Barn Playhouse near Saskatoon to watch a dramatic performance of "Huckleberry Finn."  As it was family-type entertainment, I hadn't really thought about the book as controversial.  At any rate, the latest media coverage makes me think I should order a copy from the local library and read this book, so I can better decide for myself whether the publication of this new volume is a good thing (as Martha Stewart would say) or a negative form of censorship.  Despite my Bachelor's degree in English, there are so many good books that I haven't actually read.  Maybe, once we have finished the trilogy of E. Nesbit books,  Alisdair and I should read "Huckleberry Finn" as one of our "read alouds." I might have read it years ago, but I honestly can't recall if I have actually done so.

What do you think? Is taking the n-word and other slurs out of Mark Twain censorship, or a step in the right direction in terms of getting younger people better acquainted with literature of the U.S. Civil War era? If you wish to do so, leave your thought in the comments.

I have copied (below) an article about the new edition of "Huckleberry Finn" from "The National Post":

New edition of Huckleberry Finn to replace ‘n-word’ with ‘slave’

Mark Twain, left, with his friend John Lewis in 1903.

Jason Rehel  January 4, 2011 – 12:16 pm

Publishers Weekly reported on Monday that a soon to be released edition of Mark Twain’s classic of American literature, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, will replace all instances of the ‘n-word,’ “the singularly offensive word” used to refer to African Americans throughout the late 19th-century text. Editors have also decided to do away with the word “injun,” replacing it as well with “slave.”

NewSouth Books, who’ve been working with Twain scholar and Auburn University at Montgomery professor Alan Gribben, say they are taking the unprecedented measure as a means of reviving 21st century interest in the book, not as “an effort to render Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn colorblind,” Gribben says. He also notes:

“Race matters in these books. It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century …

And after discussing his mother’s use of the slur during his youth, and his subsequent move to the U.S. South to raise a family, Gribben went on to say:

“My daughter went to a magnet school and one of her best friends was an African-American girl. She loathed the book, could barely read it.”

The Publishers Weekly article went on to remark that the slur appears 219 times in the original Twain text, and that NewSouth’s publisher, Suzanne La Rosa, knew that the charge of censorship would crop up:

“We recognized that some people would say that this was censorship of a kind, but our feeling is that there are plenty of other books out there — all of them, in fact — that faithfully replicate the text, and that this was simply an option for those who were increasingly uncomfortable, as he put it, insisting students read a text which was so incredibly hurtful.”

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn: The NewSouth Edition will be a US$24.95 hardcover, with the publisher aiming to have the book on on U.S. shelves by February.

POEM - Dedication to "The Phoenix and the Carpet"

Just one Chapter left in "Five Children and It,"
 so will probably start this one today....

Not sure why I like these little poems on the dedication pages of Edith Nesbit's books, but I do!

"The Phoenix and the Carpet" is dedicated to her "dear godson, Hubert Griffith and his sister, Margaret" and the poem is as follows:

Dear Hubert, if I ever found

A wishing carpet lying round,

I'd stand upon it, and I'd say

"Take me to Hubert, right away!"

And then we'd travel very far

To where the magic countries are

That you and I will never see,

And choose the loveliest gifts for you, from me.

But oh!  alack! and well-a-day!

No wishing carpets come my way.

I never found a Phoenix yet,

And Psammeads are so hard to get!

So I can give you nothing fine

Only this book, your book and mine,

And hers, whose name by yours is set;

Your book, my book, the book of Margaret!

DYMCHURCH
September 1904

POEM - Dedication to "Five Children and It"

Mothers, the world over, lament their children are growing up too quickly.  The same, no doubt, rang true for the author, E. Nesbit as observed on the flyleaf of "Five Children and It."  The book, first published in 1902,  is dedicated to JOHN BLAND, who most likely was her son (Edith Nesbit was married to a Hubert Bland and she had a "growing family").  With Isobel already in Kindergarten and learning her letters, I can concur with the sentiments in this poem:

My Lamb, you are so very small,

You have not learned to read at all.

Yet never a printed book withstands

The urgence of your dimpled hands.

So, though this book is for yourself,

Let mother keep it on the shelf

Till you can read. O days that pass,

That day will come too soon, alas!

Alisdair and I began reading "Five Children and It" on Tuesday afternoon and we are almost finished already ~ just two chapters left! And then it is on to "The Phoenix and the Carpet" ~ so many exciting adventures, we can't help reading onward to find out what will happen next!

LAPBOOKS - Mary, Queen of Scots ~ Queen Without a Country

As a half-Scottish lad, Alisdair said he wanted to study about Scotland and its people.  After a brief search at the Homeschool Share website, I found a Unit Study on Mary Queen of Scots.  It is based on the book, "Mary, Queen of Scots ~ Queen Without a Country" by Kathryn Lasky (which centers around her childhood) and "Mary, Queen of Scots" by Jacob Abbott (which is available online here), that tells more about her adulthood.  The latter is a very old text, having been "prepared by volunteers associated with Heritage-History, using as a copytext, the book by Mr. Abbott, which was printed by New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1860. (Originally published in 1848)."

The Homeschool Share Unit is broken down into 13 lessons which cover the major events in Mary's life.  There are lapbook components for each lesson and also questions for each of the sections.  Today I read all the information from the Homeschool Share website (templates here) to Alisdair, so he now has some overall idea about what transpired and what questions he will be asked to answer.

I was especially pleased to see how everything we have studied thus far, "dovetails" perfectly with this work.  In Lesson One, the notes state that "Mary saw a renewed interest in fine arts and viewed the works of artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael" (all artists we have been working on). In Lesson Two they speak of "Michelangelo's Surprise" (the lapbook we have partially completed) as Mary married Francis, the son of King Henry II and Queen Catherine de Medici.  The Medici family of Italy featured prominently in the Michelangelo book, so this gives more context.  Then, back in November, when we studied about Guy Fawkes, Alisdair had a colouring picture of James VI of Scotland and James I of England.  Of course he was Mary, Queen of Scots son!  It is nice to see all the loose ends tying themselves together to present the bigger picture.  I'd like to claim this was all due to my methodical planning - but it is delightful happenstance!

Alisdair completed the first lapbook component for Lesson One today - a map of Europe.  He coloured Scotland in blue, England in red and France in pink.  He also answered questions about the origins of Mary's parents and Francis' parents; where the Reformation took place; and noted where Mary was born; where she moved when she was five; and where she died.

Outside Cover of mini book

Map and initial questions

A good start, indeed!

QUOTATION - "... And No Rabbits Caught" ~ From "Five Children and It"

Alisdair is enjoying the stories from "Five Children and It" and we have now finished Chapter 6, with five more to go... We finish one chapter and he begs for more.  I suppose that's a good thing! 

In Chapter 6 - "A Castle and No Dinner" we came upon an interesting expression.  Martha, one of the servants is talking to another and says:  "Now, Eliza, come, get on with them beds.  Here's ten o'clock nearly and no rabbits caught" (Page 113). The next sentence goes on to explain:  "People say that in Kent when they mean 'and no work done'."


I stopped reading and told Alisdair we would have to remember that saying, as often I feel like the day is getting away on us and we haven't accomplished as much as we should have done.  Getting the newspapers delivered is a good example of this!  So, next time the clock is waxing onward and we haven't gotten as much done as we would have liked, I'll have to say "... and no rabbits caught!"

LAPBOOKS - Michelangelo's Surprise - PART II

Cover of the actual book reproduced for the lapbook cover

Yesterday Alisdair made three more little mini books for his Michelangelo's Surprise lapbook (to add to the pile we had already completed.)  Then we began gluing the components into the folder itself.  We still have more books to complete, but it is nice to get some of them attached so they are all together and not getting misplaced!  The red square at the bottom with the gold tie contains little mini pictures of some of Michelangelo's artwork.  Alisdair also completed a Michelangelo themed crossword puzzle today.  It contained some interesting facts.

Completed crossword

I didn't know, for example, that the Sistine Chapel ceiling covered one thousand square yards!  That's a lot of area.  Michelangelo was apprenticed to a famous painter when he was twelve years old, so Alisdair and I joked that he would be sent to paint ceilings in September, of this year, when he turns twelve.  He was willing to "give it a go" and thought he could probably draw "naked stick men!"  Michelangelo spent twenty years designing tombs and a chapel for the Medicis, an influential Italian family.  This puzzle (and many others) are available at this website.  I have also printed off several activities for Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and other people we hope to study this year.

Here are some photos of the first section of our lapbook.  I'll post some additional photos when we have completed this project in its entirety.

First flap and first folder
(We put two folders together to allow for additional worksheets)

Inside of the "Speaking Italian" mini book
(Italian flag with talking head on it)

Close-up of artwork samples

BOOKS - Five Children and It ~ By: Edith Nesbit

Book One of a Trilogy

At last we have finished the second half of "The Bastables" - which was "The Wouldbegoods."  Alisdair and I thought it was even better than the first half which was titled "The Story of the Treasure Seekers."  It was New Years Eve and we only had two chapters left to read.  I was going to try to finish the book off, but Alisdair didn't want the stories to end, so he wanted to string it out as long as possible!  But we DID finish it yesterday.  When we were done, he kindly walked to the library to return the book, all on his own.  There is another book in the series, called "The New Treasure Seekers," but we will have to wait to receive it through inter-library loans.

Meanwhile we have begun a three book trilogy by the same author.  The first book is called "Five Children and It."  We have finished the second chapter and, although the characters are different children than in the previous two books, Alisdair and I are finding it equally delightful and perhaps a bit easier to read and understand.

The back cover gives this summary:

"While their parents are away, Robert, Anthea, Cyril and Jane start digging a hole to Australia to see if it's true that people on the other side of the world walk upside down.  They don't get far, however, before they dig up a furry brown creature with bat's ears.  It is a Psammead, an ancient Sand-fairy."


"The Sammyadd - as the children call it - grumpily tells them that it is forced to grant their wishes, because that is what Sand-fairies do.  There's just one catch:  The wishes will come undone at sunset."


"No matter how carefully the children plan, the wishes keep turning about - like Robert's wish that everyone would love the Lamb, his baby brother, which leads to the Lamb's nearly being kidnapped."


"E. Nesbit's comic fantasy is clearly a warning to be careful what you wish for - you may get it!"

We have already learned about "golden Spade Guineas" which we then looked up online.  They were a form of British coinage prior to the use of sovereigns and looked like this:

A "Spade Guinea" - 1788



The two other books in the series are:  "The Phoenix and the Carpet" and "The Story of the Amulet" so we shall have plenty of reading material for the days and weeks to come.