A Christmas Carol
Recommended. Age: 11+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Scrooge is a rich old man who loves money and hates Christmas. One Christmas Eve the ghost of his old partner warns him to change. Three spirits show him his past, his present and his future. He wakes up a new man who is kind and generous. This is one of the best conversion stories in English. A hard man is shown the truth about his life and is given time to repent, and he takes it. The ghosts are part of the story world and are not occult. Nobody calls them up. They come as a warning and a mercy. Catholic educators assign it in the middle grades. Parents should know that Christ is hardly named, so bring him into the talk yourself.
For parents
Read aloud from about eight. Independent reading from eleven or twelve, since the Victorian sentences are long. Common Sense Media says 9+. Warn sensitive children that Marley's ghost and the silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are eerie, and that the story shows hungry children and a family grieving. Ask: what are Marley's chains made of, and who made them? Why does Scrooge get a second chance? What does he do first when he wakes? Explain the ghosts plainly. This is a story, and the spirits act like messengers sent to save a soul. No one summons them, and the book does not invite anyone to seek out the dead. The Church forbids that. Marley's wandering is a picture of regret, not the Church's teaching on purgatory, which is a merciful cleansing of souls who are saved. Note that Dickens barely names Jesus. Tell your child that the mercy Scrooge receives comes from Christ, and that real conversion ends in confession and in works of mercy. Adults drink wine and punch at the feasts.