From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up-British actor Mike McShane provides a superb portrayal
of Mark Twain's classic characters, nailing the Mississippi drawl
and cadence. For those who know and love the story or are following
along with an unabridged edition, however, this production is
marred somewhat by what the publisher has chosen to leave out. The
more descriptive chapters are shortened or expurgated entirely,
which is understandable in the interest of editing for time. Some
of the more distasteful racial epithets are gone as well, although
Injun Joe retains his moniker. Sid and Mary are also cut entirely,
as well as references to smoking, slavery, most of Tom's
ludicrously funny romantic notions about the violence inflicted by
pirates and robbers, and even the naked figure in the
schoolmaster's anatomy book. The result is a watered down Tom and,
especially, Huck. The ending also lacks the satisfaction of the
original version. The party scene where the fortune is revealed has
been cut as has Twain's concluding paragraphs which "endeth this
chronicle." It lacks even the closure of the customary, "You have
been listening to-." The sturdy plastic case will survive many
circulations. If your facility serves an elementary-age population
for which the language of the original would not be appropriate, or
there is a teacher looking for a sanitized version, McShane's
excellent performance makes this edition worth recommending.
Diana Dickerson, White Pigeon Community Schools, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers
to the Audio Cassette edition.
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