Don’t miss the giveaway at the end!
As a Charlotte Mason inspired and influenced homeschool, reading a bit of Charles Dickens has been a regular part of our read aloud time over the years. However, I did find in the early years that it was a challenge for my young children to understand his writing. I wish that at that time I had known about this wonderful book, ‘Charles Dickens’ by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom.
The byline on the cover reads, ‘Scenes From An Extraordinary Life’, and indeed this book gives its reader just that, an extraordinary reading experience! This book is beautifully illustrated, something that I have come to expect from the authors work. The illustrations will suck your children right in as they explore each page.
The book is dramatic a biography of Charles Dickens life. We start our journey through this book at the beginning of course – Charles Dickens’ birth. We move through the book watching our hero progress through his early childhood in Chatham, his move to London and the awful time where he had to work in a ‘blacking’ factory at the tender age of 12. We follow him as he moves into his early career as a reporter and then the exciting publication of his very first story in the Old Strand Magazine.
We watch as he gains fame and celebrity status with ‘The Pickwick papers’, then his first tour of the States and his public readings in the UK. By spending time with Charles Dickens in the pages of this book we learn how he closely observed the underworld of Victorian London which inspired some of his great novels that we have come to love and cherish all these many years later.
I think this book is the perfect way to introduce young children to Charles Dickens. It creates a bond between our children and this famous author, which hopefully will endure his works to them in later years.
This book is published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and is available on Amazon
**Now for the giveaway**
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books have been kind enough to offer a copy of this book to one Curriculum Choice reader. Please follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below to enter.
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Shirley Ann lives in the UK with her husband, two daughters, and two cats who think they rule the roost. She's a veteran homeschooler of 13 years and is passionate about home keeping, homeschooling, nature study, and seasonal living, Shirley regularly blogs about her Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschooling and British lifestyle on her blog, 'Building A Household of Faith'.
My kids love books! They have definitely encouraged their love for learning!
I’m not sure that its ever helped them with great literature but it has helped them with events in history.
This book looks like a fantastic way to introduce Charles Dickens! Thanks for all you do here at Curriculum Choice and for the opportunity to win a great book!
~Tina
My kids love books like this. It helps them to understand the setting, culture and wording so much better!
We love books! These types have made something that might have been confusing, interesting and alive for my children.
Thanks for this review. The book sounds like a lot of fun, and I’ve ordered it from the library.
My son loves to read. I love the format of this book!!
We just looked at Treasure Island through a series of readers that summarized the story and provided illustrations matching the text. This was a great introduction for my daughter, and spurred her on to wanting to read the original book! I think picture books like Manning’s on Dickens can “whet the appetite” for the original works!
What a marvelous idea!
The greatest encouragement of literature in our homes has been reading aloud. My husband has a classic novel going with each child.
I believe a biography that connects the children to the person really increases their interest level in anything that person has done! This is a great idea.
That is a great book. I think my son would like it he is a visual learner. He has to see it in front of him. I am trying to teach him how to play act.
This looks like a fantastic way to introduce Charles Dickens to younger children. I think learning about an author’s life can help a child to connect with the stories the author writes. Thanks for sharing about the book.
Reading kids versions of some classics at young age introduce them to great literature. It also inspired them to read the unabridged versions of them. This book looks like a great invitation to read more classics.
My kids have been interested in reading great literature due to it being mentioned in books and me not being afraid of giving it a try. This book looks like it would be great for my youngest who at this point is more skeptical of books I try to introduce him to.
Children’s books have helped my two children understand that there are so many great choices in literature to discover at their young ages. I am interested in reading this Charles Dickens story together with my boys. I admire the use of varied text and even balloon captions. We all should learn some interesting bits. I’ll have to research our local library for this one! thanks for the post.
This looks great! I always appreciate learning about the authors who write the books we enjoy reading!
When great literature is written where children can understand it, then as they grow they can begin to read the original writings and then still understand it. It’s like the children grow as the literature grows. I can’t wait to see this one!
This is added to my list of books for my daughter to read and to put with the rest of the keepsake books for future grandchildren.
This book about Dickens looks beautiful!! I would love to share it with my children!
I think it is great to have books that introduce kids to things on their level so they have an understanding as they dig deeper.
I think books have helped my children to see and experience things outside of how they live.