“One of my most constant and most earnest endeavours has been to exhibit in all my good people some faint reflections of the teachings of our great Master, and … to lead the reader up to those teachings as the great source of all moral goodness.” — Charles Dickens
In 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol, Bob Welch shows how Dickens also did quite the opposite of this as well — by showing through one very bad, cold, and heartless man, the sin that lurks in all of us as well.
This little book begins with a list of A Christmas Carol’s characters for your reference, and a short but inspiring introduction to the story — the works of Dickens, his times, and a call for us to learn from it by identifying with Scrooge, even though it will make us uncomfortable.
As suggested by its title, the book is broken up into 52 short lessons or insights that can be learned from this great story. These lessons pertain to fear, joy, the value of life, regret, bitterness, and of course the love of money.
This book would make a good accompaniment while reading A Christmas Carol aloud with your family during the time leading up to Christmas, or as a discussion guide if you have an older child reading it on his or her own.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to put a plug in for the lovely version of A Christmas Carol that I borrowed from our library to read along with this book (would you believe I had never read it previously?!), illustrated by P. J. Lynch. It has illustrations on almost every page, some that are two page spreads, and is perfect for reading aloud with your children.
Please note: This book was provided to me free of charge from the publisher through BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
