Twain Illustrated: Three Stories by Mark Twain, is a collection of classic Mark Twain stories, illustrated by Marc Johnson-Pencook. All three stories, Emerson, Holmes, and Longfellow, The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut, and Running for Governor, show why Mark Twain is recognized as the master of wild, American humor. But unbelievably, when Twain teams with modern-classic illustrator Marc Johnson-Pencook, the humor grows wilder yet. From a distraught miner hosting literary imposters in Emerson, Holmes, and Longfellow, to Twain himself badgered by an intruder in Carnival of Crime, to Twain abused by the press in Running for Governor, Marc the artist displays his own brand of mastery depicting all the outrageous scenes that shape each Twain story. Forty-three of his pen & ink illustrations are interspersed throughout this collection, which is respectfully adapted and illustrated to capture and hold the attention of modern-day, middle-school readers. But these stories are not just for that young group! Modern-day young adults and elders admire illustrated literature too, especially when Mark Twain tells stories that generate the wildly-imagined images Johnson-Pencook renders. All these readers will be happy to discover that Mark the author and Marc the illustrator work perfectly well together, almost as if they share the same mind across the decades.
Author Biography:
Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30,1835 and raised in Hannibal, Missouri, a small town on the Mississippi River. But that's not exactly true. For Mark Twain's legal name was Samuel Clemens, and he was always just plain Sam to family and friends. Mark Twain didn't exist until 1863 when Sam adopted this pen-name while working as a newspaper reporter in Nevada. Soon Mark Twain, author, was writing humorous stories and thought-pieces for readers across the nation. Meanwhile, Mark Twain, lecturer, was cracking-up audiences with finely-polished stories, delivered to perfection. Blessed with remarkable talent for both written and oral story-telling, talents he cultivated with diligent practice, Mark Twain became a famous author and lecturer almost all at once. It didn't take long before Mark Twain's fame spread internationally nor before it became permanent as gold with the publication of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884. Mark Twain spoke and wrote in a quaint, authentic American dialect with pride and self-assurance at a time when almost all authors thought they needed to stick with high-tone English to earn respect and acclaim. Yet there was something even more crucial to Mark Twain's fame than his innovative literary style; he perfected a method to make people laugh. A serious man at heart, Mark Twain took serious subjects and situations and exaggerated them to a point where potential drama turned into hilarious comedy. His perfection of this comic method caused tears of laughter to wet the cheeks of countless listeners and readers in his day, as it has for generations of readers ever since. Mark Twain became and remains an international treasure mostly because he was so darn funny. After a long and abundant career, Mark Twain succumbed to heart disease and died in Redding, Connecticut on April 21, 1910. Many millions of fans world-wide mourned his death. Jerome Tiller lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is owner of ArtWrite Productions, a publishing company bent on making education and reading more pleasurable for youth. Adapted Classics, an imprint of ArtWrite Productions, uses fine-art illustrations to introduce classic stories to young readers. Learn more about Jerome and his company at: artwriteproductions.com and adaptedclassics.com Marc Johnson-Pencook is an illustrator, animator, and muralist. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His illustrations appear in books, periodicals, gallery shows and private collections, and his murals adorn many walls and ceilings in public places and private spaces in the Twin Cities and beyond. He also teaches illustration at the Atelier Studio Program of Fine Art in Minneapolis and the Art Academy in St. Paul. In addition, Marc composes and performs rock music-he currently plays percussion for Ozmo Stone-a rock band based in Minneapolis. Marc can be contacted at: http: //illustratormarc.com/
