Who could forget the pranks, the adventures, the sheer fun of Tom Sawyer? From Tom’s sly trickery with the whitewashed fence to his and Becky Thatcher’s calamities in Bat Cave, the enjoyment never ends.
Just what did boys do in a small town during the mid-1800s, a time when there were no televisions, no arcades, and no videos? They whitewashed fences, floated down rivers, traded marbles, formed secret societies, smoked pipes, and, on occasion, managed to attend their own funerals. Yes, they may have been a bit mischievous, but as Aunt Polly said of Tom when she believed him to be dead, “He was the best-hearted boy that ever was.” Aunt Polly’s sentiments reveal one of Mark Twain’s cardinal philosophies: In this deceitful and infirm world, innocence can be found only in the heart of a boy.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a humorous and nostalgic book depicting the carefree days of boyhood in a small Midwestern town. The characters are based on Twain’s schoolmates and the town, Hannibal, Missouri, is where Twain grew up.
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"I read this recently as part of the anthology of Twain's novels. I liked it overall -- in some ways it is better than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn even though I like the character of Tom Sawyer less than Huck. It was nostalgic to me in a couple of ways -- I read it before long ago and I also used to sneak out of my house at night as a kid and have adventures. So it was a nice read that took me back to childhood."
— Kenn (4 out of 5 stars)
“The hero is one of the most endearing in literature.”
— Daily Telegraph (London)“Grover Gardner slips inside the humor and drama of this classic, casting a spell that vividly creates Twain’s nineteenth-century setting for listeners…while creating memorable characters through accent and tone…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile“Gardner’s resonant tones roll over the rich, extensive vocabulary, almost as if Twain himself were telling the story…The delightful audio enables kids to enjoy this compelling tale, which might seem daunting in book form.”
— Booklist (audio review)“Twain intended his novel not just as a book for the young but as a piece of nostalgia for the young at heart…It’s a relatively quiet reading—homey—as if told in retrospect by one’s grandfather.”
— KLIATT (audio review)“More than a book for boys, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with its rich native humor and shrewd observations of human character, is an idyll of American village life.”
— Masterpieces of World Literature“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has the truth of honesty—what it says about things and feelings is never false and always both adequate and beautiful.”
— Lionel Trilling, American literary critic" Mark Twain is the first author I discovered as a young reader. I read all of his books before I graduated from high school. The beautiful thing about Twain is that when retreading him, at different ages, the books continue to speak to you. "
— Joellen, 2/18/2014" I like other Twain writings, just not Tom and Huck. The vernacular is very hard to read and the story just doesn't interest me. "
— cassie, 2/6/2014" A classic adolescence coming of age story that I read in not only the 4th grade, but the 6th. A staple in American literature. "
— Alina, 2/4/2014" A well-written book, but more suited towards boys. I did not care for this edition: while it was packed with facts and illustrations, the marginalia distracted from the actual text and could be overwhelming in the reader's peripheral vision. "
— Kelsey, 1/16/2014" Like most kids, I read this in high school English class and, like most kids, I could take it or leave it. Well, I'm glad I decided to pick it up again! Only now can I appreciate what an artist Mark Twain was. It took me a while to get through the book because I kept stopping to savor great lines and scenes. Just awesome! "
— Kristal, 1/15/2014" First Few Books I've Read. I was totally amazed back then. I'm hoping to reread. "
— June, 1/11/2014" Not as great as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but Mark Twain's humor and storytelling abilities make it a classic read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down. "
— Melissa, 1/8/2014" My very first book at the age of nine, bought by my Dad. I first fell in love watching the Japanese cartoons, but reading it was a lot different. It was an adventure. Very intriguing and captivating. "
— Anne, 10/27/2013" Mark Twain really is brilliant! I loved this! I think anyone who has a little boy should read this! "
— Nmsbay, 10/22/2013" Sharing some laughs at Tom Sawyer's expense with my 12, 10, and 7 yo's. What a great adventure story! "
— Dawn, 10/10/2013" Dude goes to his own funeral, always wanted to do that. Great book. See my review of the Huckleberry Finn book. I read them back to back in summer 2010 after it had been 40+ years since my 6th grade teacher had read them to us in school. Still great... "
— towner77, 1/24/2013Mark Twain (1835–1910) was born Samuel L. Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. He is one of the most popular and influential authors our nation has ever produced, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. He has been called not only the greatest humorist of his age but also the father of American literature.
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.