The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)

It took me long enough to read this, but very little surprised me. So much gets lost in the short-shelf-life of children's pop culture, but somehow Tom Sawyer remains a constant. Twain writes with thick nostalgia of a simpler time and of childhood. Of course, Tom Sawyer is a pale candle compared to Huckleberry Finn, but as a book for children it almost stands a fighting chance against the newcomers of the genre. Unlike many other books written over a hundred years destined for kid's hands it is never insipid and a reader unfamiliar with its imitators will enjoy the adventures and the child-logic of Tom and Huck.

I did say almost. I don't like the idea of limiting access to any books based on perceived appropriateness, but the chance of harm is real in this one. There are some deep-rooted racial pitfalls in this book, for instance, Huck's declaring he's never known a black person who wouldn't lie and, uh, the whole aura surrounding Injun Joe completely apart from the murdering. There's also the romancing of Becky Thatcher. Even if you change some of the wording there are problems with the text that will be a challenge to put in the right context for a younger reader. If a teacher or parent is up to that challenge, they can go right ahead, but the whitewash ain't gonna cover this fence.

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Do not know why this book escaped my childhood. As an old man I found it entertaining and delightful. A true classic with charm, capturing the time and place with gritty reality. We still bear the twisted mentality of the profiling bequeathed by such stories. ( )

Tom is an endearing character. He is smart, mischievous, adventurous and causes a lot of trouble for his aunt. But he is kind and loves his aunt. He protects his 'girlfriend' by covering for her, owning up to something he didn't do. And you can't help laughing at some of his antics, for example persuading his friends to whitewash the wall for him. I suppose this is why this book is a classic. ( )

One of the greatest books I have ever read! It made me long to be a child again, though I was nowhere near as imaginative as Tom or Huck. ( )

A humorous and adventure-filled homage to boyhood in a bygone era, when ticks, marbles, dead cats on a string and playing Robin Hood were the ultimate entertainment. Boys wanted to go outside - and enjoyed the graphics for its own sake. ( )