A Christmas Carol (Sterling Unabridged Classics Series)

A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.

Beloved in Christmases past, and sure to remain a favorite into Christmases of the future, Dickens’ popular holiday tale is the perfect Christmas present. The uplifting tale follows the mysterious and magical events that transform the miserly, miserable Ebenezer Scrooge into “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man” as ever lived.

School Library Journal

Gr 3 Up–Dickens’s cautionary tale of an embittered, stingy old man learning to be a happier, more giving person thanks to the intervention of four ghosts has long been fodder for holiday collections. From its stark opening spread (“MARLEY WAS DEAD”) to the final one with its much more cheerful winter scene, this year’s version, illustrated in Helquist’s darkly comic style, is one of the best. Some of that credit must go to Greenhut, who provided the abridgment. Sacrificing none of Dickens’s rich language, this retelling reads beautifully. The artist uses watercolor, pencil, and pastel to create cinematic artwork that contains amusing details; additionally, there are a number of pen-and-ink vignettes that help set the scenes. A winning combination of sparkling prose and exciting art.–Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Charles Dickens is probably the greatest novelist England ever produced. His innate comic genius and shrewd depictions of Victorian life -- along with his memorable characters -- have made him beloved by readers the world over. In Dickens' books live some of the most repugnant villains in literature, as well as some of the most likeable (and unlikely) heroes.