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The Big Read
 April - June 2010 

What are we
reading?

 Mark Twain'S    
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is not merely a literary classic. It is part of the American imagination. More than any other work in our culture it established America's vision of childhood. Mark Twain created two fictional boys, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, who still seem more real than most of the people we know. In a still puritanical nation, Twain reminded adults that children were not angels, but fellow human beings, and perhaps all the more lovable for their imperfections and bad grooming. Neither American literature nor America has ever been the same.

 cover tomsawyer


What is
The Big Read is a nationwide program created by the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American culture. The Big Read invites neighbors to read and discuss a single book of American Literature in their communities and experience the transformative power of reading. The NEA supplies educational and promotional materials such as Reader's Guides and Audio Guides, bookmarks, posters and banners to encourage citizens to participate.


Copies of the NEA Reader’s Guides, Teacher’s Guides, and Audio Guides for “The Adventure of Tom Sawyer” are available at all branches of the Hartford Public Library and all partner libraries.

This project is part of the Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.


Website Contact: websupport@hplct.org