A Boy Called Dickens [Hardcover]

My husband and I are great fans of Charles Dickens' works, especially novels like Great Expectations (which is being remade yet again and slated for release in 2012), David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and A Tale of Two Cities. I was hoping to pass down this love of Dickens to our own daughter who is seven. When I saw this picture book at our well-stocked local library, I knew this would be a great way to introduce Dickens to her.

A Boy Called Dickens is a fictionalized retelling of Charles Dickens' life when he was a young boy of twelve, living a destitute life in 1800s London, a city known for being unforgiving to the less fortunate. Dickens' father is in debtor's prison, serving out a sentence for being unable to pay a debt owed to the baker, and since Dickens' mother and siblings have nowhere to go, they all live at the prison as well. All except Dickens that is - he toils away at a blacking factory, earning a meager sum despite putting in long hours; and, lives in a decrepit dwelling, occupying a cold attic. His only solace is his pencil and slate - tools which help him escape into other worlds, creating stories and characters from his experiences, observations, and from his overabundant imagination.

The story is well-told, and even though little is known about this dark period in Dickens' life, it does correlate with some of what we know of his early years, and the author has evidently done some research into this. The illustrations are beautiful, and despite the dark theme of a struggling, neglected child, there is also a ray of hope threaded into the storyline. Dickens did rise above his early disadvantaged life, and became a renowned author whose works continue to be loved two centuries later. This picture book is a great way for children and adults to celebrate Dickens' 200th birthday, and will hopefully encourage young readers to pick up one of his classics.

This is a great way to remember Charles Dickens. His 200th birthday is Feb 7 2012. A great intro for any child.

We meet the 12 year old Dickens on a cold, gray winter day in London. He is hungry and his school books are pawned. Instead of school, he must work long hours at a blacking factory. His friend, Fagin, begs the young boy to entertain him with stories to pass the long work hours. Later, Dickens makes his way home through the dreary London streets where vendors sell potatoes and chestnuts to the poor.

The boy returns home alone to a tiny room, with a cot and shelf and loaf of bread, leaving the reader wondering where his family may be. His entire family is in the debtors prison, including his mother and young siblings who have nowhere else to live. The young Dickens longs to return to school, but there will be more obstacles to overcome before this happens.

The illustrations are done in shades of beige, gray and brown to convey how poverty severely limits one's options, while Dickens is painted with an inner light that animates this boy whose aspirations seem near impossible. His future characters are done in ghostly blues, as we discover the people and places that he will later reinvent through his stories such as, "a young gentleman with great expectations...lawyers, clerks, convicts and keepers of old curiosity shops."

This story is a nice way of introducing children to this literary genius, and the story will give children a renewed appreciation for school, as the young Dickens's one driving ambition is to return to school! Anyone with a dream that seems out of reach, will be inspired by this tale.

The last line will stay with the reader long afterward:
"...remember how much we all might lose when a child's dreams don't come true."