Mark Twain Books
Jul 24th, 2007 by Bookworm
Growing up in northeastern Pennsylvania very close to Elmira, New York, I heard about Mark Twain my whole life. He didn’t live there for all of his life, but he lived there with his wife, and did some of his writing there. There are many things in Elmira with his name, including a golf course and a not so special motel, but he is revered in the area, and Elmira is proud to have been his home.
What really surprises me is that despite living close to Elmira, New York, I only remember read a few Mark Twain books in school.
I’m not even sure how many Mark Twain books there are out there, but I do of course remember reading Huckleberry Finn. It was a charming book, and it’s a story that most kids remember once they have read it. It is definitely a taste of life from way back when, and it continues to be a classic. Of all of the Mark Twain books there are, this one seems to be the one that everyone remembers. He certainly painted a vivid picture.
I was recently talking to a friend who is in her last year of high school. She was talking about books that have been at one time or another banned from high school reading lists. I was surprised to hear that Mark Twain books were among some on the list. The reasoning, as far as I can tell, is the use of certain words that are not acceptable in society at the present time. Though I can certainly understand this, I don’t understand why this would cause Mark Twain books to be banned.Â
I may be of the minority, but I think this is a perfect time to explain to your children the differences between people, why those differences are good things, and the fact that the world has come a long way since those books were written. It is important to know our history, and to see how far we have come as a people. Not everyone is as enlightened, of course, but many of us have long grown past such things.
The most important thing about history is that we learn from it. Children are smart. If they are reading Mark Twain books, read along with them, or ask them about it and see if they have any questions. This is the perfect opportunity to teach them how you view the world, and what you think it right and wrong.
