Parents' Guide to

The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher

By Kate Pavao, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Imaginative retelling puts feisty girl at center of classic.

The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

Even readers who haven't yet read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer will appreciate the strong-willed star at the center of THE ACTUAL & TRUTHFUL ADVENTURES OF BECKY THATCHER. She's certainly a brave girl (for example, short on change to enter in a betting pool, she offers a boy the chance to pick her scab), and she's full of all kinds of superstitions that she knows are fake but can trick herself into believing (after eating a cookie at the Widow's house for example, she falls on the floor, thinking she's been poisoned by a witch. Then she realizes the pain in her mouth is because the cookie was piping hot).

She certainly gets herself -- and some other folks -- into plenty of trouble, but in the end she's able to find a way to grow up while keeping parts of her childhood, including her adventurous spirit.

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate