We wanted to get a hard-cover Tom Sawyer for our son, someone he could treasure for a long time. This edition looks handsome enough, and has a ribbon bookmark, which is nice. It was a little disappointing that this all-American classic was printed in China. The book warps back and forth with changes in humidity; that's something I haven't seen any other book do. The story about how the illustrations were done is what hooked us; they are nice enough, but they are very small and there aren't so many of them. They really don't bring the book to life as we were imagining they might.

It being the Fourth of July, or Small Explosives Day as I call it (training kids early to think bombs are fun can pay off with trillions of tax dollars, no questions asked), I am reminded of my favorite American, Mr. Sam Clemens.
I remember it was a hot July day, I was five or six and happily wandering the local library, and I saw an old copy of Tom Sawyer on a shelf. I'd heard of it, saw the cover of a kid with a slingshot in his back pocket, and said, "This is for me!"
I have never looked back.
Huck Finn is a deeper book, no doubt, dealing with deeper issues, while TS is all about the joys and pains of being a kid, and especially the joys of being a smart little rebel. No other book ever made America seem more appealing to me.
Twain understands what this country was meant to be, could be, should be, might be. He knows what kids are about, and how much smarter than adults they can be. From Tom Sawyer to Letters From The Earth rises and falls an arc that few artists of any nation can touch. Twain knows that this is the best and the worst country on earth, full of truly good-hearted if misinformed people who would love to trust their leaders if they could.
Above all, Twain lets us laugh at ourselves while seeing our foibles in the light of day.
There's a game where you pick three figures in history you'd like to have dinner with. I always used to choose Christ, Buddha, and Shakespeare. Thinking about it now, I might have to go with Twain at the head of the table.
Alas, to be betwixt Twain and Shakespeare...o, to lean back and listen. And laugh.
Thank you, Mr. Clemens. You will always be the real Uncle Sam.

This book is an okay book to read. It starts off kinda slow but begins to get better as you read it. Mark Twain is a very good author and knows how to write a book, but this isn't one of his best books. I really liked his other book Huckleberry Fin. that was a fun book to read, cause i could picture really well what was going on with the two boys. But this book is still a good book to read if you are bored or if you need a book to read over the summer, but it would not be a book that I would choose to read again.

I think this book was the best book for reading counts because the characters are funny and some of them get into alot of trouble. I like the way the author writes the story. He makes the characters sound interesting and the situations that they are in don't sound boring. I think if people don't like to read as mush as other people do, they will enjoy this book. In this story, there is a boy named Tom Sawyer , who gets really gullable people to do his work for him. He also gets himself into alot of trouble. For example, Tom and his friends went to an island and they decided not to return home. Their family was getting worried and they were searching for them all over the town. Soon they asumed that they were dead. On the day of the funeral they returned, and of course, they got into alot of trouble. I reccomend this book because it is exciting and adventerous. You will really like this book!

Excellent adventure story for readers of all ages. Mark Twain hits it right on the head of what child experiences as he matures into his teenage years.