Reading Club: Children’s Book (9–12 years old) | My People - Εικόνα

In April, the SNFCC Reading Club is dedicated to the memory of Filippos Tsimpoglou, Director General of the National Library of Greece (NLG).

In April, the Children’s Reading Club for young booklovers aged 10 to 12 continues its meetings, facilitated by author Angeliki Darlasi. Angeliki Darlasi is a writer of prose and theatrical plays, while she has also engaged with television and cinema. Among her awarded works are: The Boy in the Royal Box, Badboy, When We Hid an Angel, and Dream Guardians.

The book that will be discussed in this month's meeting is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

On Saturday 29/04, our young readers will meet to share impressions, feelings and thoughts, as well as to embark on an imaginary journey, sparked by the book of the month, into the fascinating worlds emerging from its pages. 

The book

Tom Sawyer is an orphan who lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid in a town of Missouri, USA, many, many years ago, during the 1840s. Tom is very fond of having a good time and not very fond at all of going to school. Which is why he frequently skips school to play or go swimming. He also often gets involved in fights. When his aunt discovers that he has once again been in a fight, she makes him whitewash her yard’s fence as punishment. But Tom cleverly manages to avoid the chore and persuades several neighborhood kids to do it for him, having them pay him to do it at that. And this is only the beginning and one of Tom’s many small and big adventures... Among other, he will manage to win a prized Bible, despite being one of the worst students; fall in love with and “get engaged” to Becky Thatcher, a newcomer in town and the daughter of the judge; get caught up in an after-midnight adventure at the cemetery with his friend Huckleberry Finn, witness a robbery and a fight, move to Jackson’s Island to begin life as “pirates,” and later on as... dead. 

If you too enjoy stories that stand the test of time, stories of wonderful friendships and strong thrills, adventures, suspense and mystery, then surely Tom Sawyer could become a very good friend of yours and the two of you can join our group to discuss his incredible adventures. 

Did You Know That: 

  • When the book was first published, it was considered a commercial failure. Eventually, however, it turned out to be the bestselling novel of Twain’s lifetime works.
  • It was one of the first novels ever written on a typewriter.
  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is, in a way, a sequel to this book. 
  • Both The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are seen by many as masterpieces of American literature. And they certainly are two indisputable classics. 

The author

Mark Twain
Renowned American humorist and writer of extremely popular novels, travelogues and autobiographical works. He was born in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, and died in Connecticut in 1910. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. 
After his father’s death, and the financial debts the family inherited, Mark had to drop out of school and work. He did a number of jobs, such as printer, secretary, miner, local newspaper editor, as well as steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, where he met lots of people and collected experiences and inspiration for his subsequent books, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. 
His literary inclination began to manifest itself when he worked as a typesetter at the local newspaper of his brother Orion, where he would also publish his own humorous articles. 
His oeuvre consists of 37 volumes. During his lifetime, Mark Twain was very highly regarded by his fellow countrymen, while after his death top critics and novelists, such as Ernest Hemingway, wrote that Twain had an immense impact on the shaping and evolution of the novel genre.

The facilitator

A writer of literature for children and young adults, playwright and teacher of creative writing and theater. 

Works and books of hers have been translated into English, Turkish, Korean, Spanish, and French. Her books have been adapted for theater (most recently, The Boy in the Royal Box, by the National Theater of Greece, 2021-2022) and puppetry performances, while some are in the pre-production stage to be adapted into films (on screenplays by the author herself), in Greece and abroad.

She has participated as co-author in productions of the State Theaters of Karlsruhe and Uppsala and the National Theater of Luxembourg (2021 & 2022), and the Union des Théâtres del'Europe (2018). Several plays of hers have been staged in Athens: Lighthouse–SNFCC, Athens Concert Hall, Art Theatre Readers’ Theatre Festival, Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, Alkmini Theater, Amore Theater–stage B, et al. She has been repeatedly awarded and distinguished for her work (both prose and theatre). 

Since 2006, she has been teaching Creative Writing and/or Theater to adults and children-teenagers, working with both public and private organizations (e.g. The Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Peloponnese, public and private post-secondary vocational schools, Metaichmio Publications, etc.). She is a motivational speaker and facilitator of activities for children and adolescents (creative writing, theater, arts and education, love of reading, etc.).

She holds degrees from the Athens University Department of Theatre Studies and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (MA in Performance Studies).

Activities for children before the Reading Club meeting

What other interesting things that piqued your curiosity about this book or its author can you find out and share with us during our meeting (e.g., translations, adaptations, films, covers of various different editions, etc.)? 

By any chance, have you and your friends ever experienced a similar adventure that resembles one of Tom Sawyer’s? Would you like to share it with us? 

Saturday 29/04
17.30 - 19.00

MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN

Up to 22 participants | For children aged 10 to 12
Free admission with online pre-registration

Preregistration starts on 03/04 at 12.00

To participate in the Reading Club, it is necessary for those who hold a position to have read the book of the month. (It is also useful to have it with them).

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is currently available in Greek from Papadopoulos Publications. 

Children should always be accompanied by parents or adult attendants who should not be away from the outdoor activity.

As part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center's collaboration with the National Library of Gree

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