Treasure Chest near rafts to Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland, CA (photo by Lynnette Johnson)

Before we dive into our next book, I’d like to thank this wonderful group of readers for allowing me to finish out the school year and letting things settle down a little bit for the summer.  I appreciate that!  And speaking of which, what do you think of when you think of summer?  Hopefully not the dredge of going to work the same as always!  Remember when you were little and pretty much had free reign of your time?  The end of school was super exciting because it meant FUN!  I remember as a kid we’d have neighborhood backyard campouts.  We’d rotate houses each week and sleep outside under the stars, telling ghost stories, singing songs, eating s’mores, and just enjoying being a kid. We’d play ditch’em (a variation of hide and seek encompassing the whole street) late into the night and find ice cream sandwiches or Drumsticks waiting when we got home.  I love summertime.  But nothing beats summertime as a kid.

I think Mark Twain knew that when he created Tom Sawyer.  Tom seems to embody everything that summertime feels like: laziness, freedom, and a bit of disobedience.  Twain based the novel on experiences he had growing up near the Mississippi River and considers Tom to be a combination of himself and boys that he knew.  Although listed as a children’s classic, Twain says in the introduction, “I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves.”

I’m looking forward to seeing where Tom and his friends take us through this novel, so let’s get reading!

Reading for week one: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, chapters 1 through 7

Where to find it:

  • Don’t forget your local library! Request the book if it’s not available and it will be sent to your library branch.  You should have it in your hands in a short amount of time
  • Available for download to Kindle, Sony Reader, and Nook
  • Can be purchased through Amazon or Barnes & Noble
  • Can be found on Project Gutenberg
  • Numerous other downloadable sources with the majority of them at no cost to you
Contributed by: Lynnette Johnson (NDM#271) Lynnette is the DDL Book of the Month Blogger.

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