A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
When I was praying about what to do for Christmas school this year, I felt a gentle nudge to read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. We chose to listen to the audio book by Tim Curry (available through Audible), and really enjoyed his narration. I was uncertain if my children (9 and 11) would be too sensitive for the material, but I found it to be age appropriate. The book itself is written in a manner that did not invoke fear in my children.
A Christmas Carol picture book by Brett Helquist, and the graphic novel by Sean Wilson, were nice accompaniments to the novel, though some of the images did create some uneasiness.
I have been cautious to wait on books and movies that might promote fear in my children. What I have discovered is that novels like the Wizard of Oz or A Christmas Carol rely on my children’s imaginations, as opposed to picture books and movies that do the imagining for you. With that said, we did enjoy A Christmas Carol the picture book by Brett Helquist, and the graphic novel by Sean Wilson, along with the Muppets Christmas Carol. The movie was nicely done for younger children. The images in the pictures books did create some uneasiness, but overall they felt appropriate for older children. For the grand finale our family attended a local performance of A Christmas Carol at a local University.
When I asked the children how they would rate the novel, my oldest gave it a 5/5 and my youngest a 4/5. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much they enjoyed this timeless story. The novel sparked many delightful conversations, as well as an opportunity to study Charles Dickens. Who Was Charles Dickens by Pam Pollack, and A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson were a great addition to our study. It makes me excited to read some of his other books with my children like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
