Book Review - Charles Dickens: Scenes from an Extraordinary Life

Confession: I have yet to read a Dickens book in its entirety. (Though I am determined for Bleak House to be my first.)

I love Charles Dickens. I love his style. I love his back story. I love that his pen name was Boz. I love that he is a Victorian author. I love the word "Dickensian". Therefore, I have been in absolute heaven with the festivities going on in honor of he 200th birthday this year. I am fully on board with the Dickens 2012 mania*. When I saw the recent picture book biography, Charles Dickens: Scenes from an Extraordinary Life by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom, I immediately picked it up. This book was the perfect way for me to share my obsession interest with AB. This book did not disappoint. Mick and Brita are a writing-illustrating duo that also happen to be married with four kids. Their illustrating style is reminiscent of Quentin Blake. (Interesting side note: He included their book, A Ruined House, in a list of his 50 all-time favorite children's books.)

Over the course of a week, this was our read aloud bedtime book. AB helped out by reading the dialogue. The authors use Dickens' own words to describe events in his life. Then using comic strips, they either describe a bit of Victoria Era history (i.e. what is a debtor's prison?) or tie the life event to one of his novels. They give just enough of the plot to get you interested in the book and then encourage you to find out the ending by reading the book yourself. The end pages provide an attractive map of "Dickens' London" including places that were instrumental in his life and prominent in his writings.

I didn't think it was possible, but this book has made me love Dickens even more than before.

*Check out podcast episodes about Dickens from Stuff You Missed In History Class, The Penguin Podcast, & The Guardian Books Podcast.