Dear Jane,

In response to your plea for support, I offer this:

1.  The first time I read TOM SAWYER was in a graduate level Twain
class.  Yes, it can be viewed as an entertaining children's book, but it
can also be examined as a text that illuminates points of Twain's style,
biographically-motivated choice of subject matter, and excellent methods
of characterization (an area very appropriate for analysis with your age
group).

2.  As to the relevancy of the text, you might offer your colleagues
some of the following views:
        "To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain
always a child.  For    what is the worth of human life, unless it is
woven into the life of our ancestors by the     records of history?"
--Cicero, ORATOR

        "Every fact and every work exercises a fresh persuasion over every
age
and every new           species of man.  History always enunciates new
truths."
--Nietzsche, THE WILL TO POWER

        "We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the
path
which has led to        the present."  --Adlai Stevenson, speech

Now, I'm not claiming that TS and HF are authoratative historical
pieces.  However, they offer insight as to motivations and societal
constraints and freedoms.

3.  HUCK as too advanced...perhaps.  I choose to teach it to my 11th
grade classes, and we openly discuss the areas of race, class, familial
dysfunction, and book censorship.  I can see how HUCK could be a
flexible teaching tool if you chose to emphasize other aspects.  The
novel is definitely a rich one that could lend itself to other
approaches.

I hope this helps.  Also, check out www.ala.org for the "Freedom to
Read" statement.  Place a copy of that in everybody's boxes!

Diane M. Peterson
Queen City High School