A Christmas Carol, Special Edition
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Excellent source for learning love and forgiveness
I have always liked the story "AChristmas Carol" and I was very pleased to see it as a Bible study. I plan to use it as my Advent story for the 5 Sundays in December plus make the plum pudding for my Sunday school class. It is an excellent resource to learn about greed, remorse, repentance and forgiveness. I highly recommend this version of the book.
August 24, 2012
A Christmas Carol Special Edition by Charles Dickens edited by Stephen Skelton makes the timeless classic new again. Dicken's A Christmas Carol has been told hundreds of times over in many different formats with varying degrees of success. Skelton doesn't change one word of the original story, but provides footnotes that offer new understanding of the story giving it added depth and power. He explains the various references to spirits in the opening chapter of the story that would have told Victorian era readers that the story would have a spiritual element, something that today's readers wouldn't necessarily notice. He also offers definitions of words not commonly used anymore. It was neat finding out that a Glee means a group of people singing a song with at least two different parts in harmony. At the end of each chapter, Skelton includes several questions to encourage readers to think more deeply about the story and to bring the message home. The questions vary in difficulty from those for adults to questions perfect for children. I have read the classic book before, but this study made its message fresh and relevant for today's readers.
December 5, 2009
Every year, as a child, I would watch "A Christmas Carol" on television. I was entranced and even a little scared when the ghosts came to visit. As I grew older, I had no interest in reading the book, since I almost knew it by heart. What a terrible mistake I had made. The book is so much better than anything that I've seen on the screen. Dickens tells such a truly amazing story!"The Christmas Carol Special Edition", though, made me thankful that I hadn't read it earlier. On each page, in the side margin, are wonderful notes that tell the reader wonderful tidbits about the time period, about Dickens himself and why he wrote certain things, where they came from, and how somethings were a reflection on Dickens life. Things that would have been passed by and things that didn't make sense, were pointed out and explained, and truly enhanced the story.Stephen Skelton did a fantastic job with the explanations, however, I wasn't as impressed with the Christian views. It felt like he was really trying to make something out of things that weren't there, to match some Biblical views. One such reference that comes to mind was when the Spirit of Christmas Present was going to take Scrooge with him, Scrooge took hold of his robe to travel. According to Skelton, that action was to heal the spirit of Scrooge and likened it to the woman who touched Jesus' robe and was healed.After each Stave (chapter), one will find a discussion section. This section is set up to use with a group, child through adult, or even self-study if one would like. This would make a nice addition to study groups, and especially nice for home schooling families.Overall, this is a beautiful book that should be on everyone's shelf. If you have problems with some of the Christian references, they can easily be excluded. The information about Dickens and the times alone are worth the purchase of this book.
November 30, 2009
If you are a Charles Dickens fan and love "A Christmas Carol" then this book is for you. I will be ordering more for gifts. Great book to use during your family devotion time, as it has good discussion questions. It would be more for upper elementary to adult readers. Could be used for a Bible Study group too.
November 5, 2009
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