Reading the classics is great experience when they are well-written. Sure, it's challenging but we want their brains to be stretched a lot more than Diary of a Wimpy Kid, right?
A Christmas Carol: In prose, being a ghost story of Christmas
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
The granddaddy of Christmas stories.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 9 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of A Christmas Carol: In prose, being a ghost story of Christmas was written by Matt Berman
Parents need to know that the original text is a real challenge for today's young readers, and for most kids this book works best as a read-aloud, with lots of discussion and explanation along the way.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about Dickens' ideas about the effects of ignorance and want, and about compassion and generosity of spirit. Also worth talking about is Scrooge himself. What is so bad about him, and what made him the way he is? Does his transformation make sense?
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More on A Christmas Carol: In prose, being a ghost story of Christmas
Book Summary
The story is familiar to nearly everyone -- one of the most widely known stories of the past century. Ebenezer Scrooge, stingy and mean, is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley announces the coming visits of three ghosts -- Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Their coming is an attempt to redeem Scrooge before it is too late, lest he share Marley's fate, and be forced to wander the earth in eternal repentance.
The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge some of the events in his life that led him to become the person he is. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows him what Christmas Day is like for those he knows, and for strangers. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him where his actions are leading him, and others. Together they engender in him a recognition of his faults and a resolve to change his life.
Is It Any Good?
In the stratosphere of literature, some few books become classics -- stories that are beloved by every succeeding generation, handed down from parent to child, treasured in family libraries, and always in print. A CHRISTMAS CAROL enjoys a status so rare that we don't even have a word for it -- a book that has permanently altered the culture to which it belongs; that has been adapted countless times in stage, screen, art, and music; whose words and phrases have passed into the lexicon of common usage; and whose story is known to everyone, even those who have never read it. It virtually created the modern secular Christmas celebration, along with the attitudes and emotions that accompany it (indeed, Dickens is credited in some quarters with the invention of the phrase, "Merry Christmas"). As such, a reading of the original should be a part of every child's experience.
Publisher’s Details
Publisher: Holiday House, Publication date: 12/11/2005
Number of pages: 118, Price: $18.85 (hardcover)
Read Aloud: 9, Read Alone: 12
Number of pages: 118, Price: $18.85 (hardcover)
Read Aloud: 9, Read Alone: 12
Our Members Say
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Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Educational
For good readers over age 9.
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
A Christmas Carol is a story that we've all heard...over and over and over. The language is good, the descriptions intriguing, and Dickens' literary style is beautiful, as always, but lets face it: the story isn't anything that we, or Dickens for that matter have heard a million times before. If you want to read something by Charles Dickens that's good, go read A Tale of Two Cities, and at least get a new story out of it.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
| 50% | of parents say it's educational |
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