BOOK REVIEW

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A CHRISTMAS CAROL -- SPECIAL EDITION: The Charles Dickens Classic with Christian Insights & Discussion Questions for Groups & Families

By Stephen Skelton

OVERVIEW: Since its publication in 1843, the tale of a miserly old man and the ghosts who visit him has been bringing the true spirit of Christmas into hearts and homes. Whether you've read the story a thousand times, or have only seen the movie, A Christmas Carol Special Edition will enrich your enjoyment of this holiday favorite with: *The complete text of the Charles Dickens classic. *Annotations offering interesting insight into the story's biblical allusions, the author's faith, and compelling Christian themes throughout. *Discussion questions designed to engage and promote dialogue among readers of all ages on such subjects as regret, repentance, and redemption. *A list of related souces to enhance your study.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Charles Dickens has held the title of the world's most celebrated nineteenth-century novelist for more than two centuries. Incredibly, his popularity continues to grow boday. In addition to A Christmas Carol, his legendary works include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations.  Stephen Skelton is the producer of a best-selling video-based Bible study series, which includes The Mayberry Bible Study, and The Beverly Hillbillies Bible Study. He lives with his family in Nashville, Tennessee.

The book sells for $7.99. For more information please visit www.StandardPub.com.

MY REVIEW: My review of this book is being done well before Christmas because I hope that churches will order many of these wonderful little books and use them in their classes and small group discussion groups. I am not involved with Standard Publishing Company in any way and my only profit would be the joy of knowing that many were celebrating the season by studying this Christmas classic based on the greatest story ever told.

I was delighted to discover the value of the notes written by Stephen Skelton. They offered great insight into the history behind this classic. I learned things from these notes that I would never have known without much study on my own.  The list of related resources to enhance your study are also of great value.

The thing I appreciated most about the book was the discussion section at the end of each stave or chapter. The topics discussed are selfishness, regret, repentance, salvation and rebirth. It doesn't get much better than this. It may be that you could get a friend to study this book and these subjects with you at Christmas time when they wouldn't at any other time.

I have been suggesting this as a study to be used by churches but it would also be an excellent study for your family in the weeks leading up to Christmas.