Review - A Boy Called Dickens

A Boy Called Dickens
by Deborah Hopkinson
illustrated by John Hendrix
Date: 2012
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: hardcover
Source: library

For years Dickens kept the story of his own childhood a secret. Yet it is a story worth telling. For it helps us remember how much we all might lose when a child's dreams don't come true...

As a child, Dickens was forced to live on his own and work long hours in a rat-infested blacking factory. Readers will be drawn into the winding streets of London, where they will learn how Dickens got the inspiration for many of his characters. The 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth was February 7, 2012, and this tale of his little-known boyhood is the perfect way to introduce kids to the great author. This Booklist Best Children's Book of the Year is historical fiction at its ingenious best.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This somewhat fictionalized biography of a young Charles Dickens is interesting, although I'm not sure I was ever that fascinated with this author in the first place. I've never managed to get through one of his books (even though I was supposed to read Great Expectations in high school). While it's kind of neat to see the inspiration for some of his characters and storylines, there was nothing here that really engaged me and made me feel anything for poor Charles... and he had such a crappy early life that I feel like I should've felt something.

A lot of blame is put on his parents, which is fair... today. But sending your 12-year-old out to work back in those days wasn't unusual. It feels like the author is trying to project 21st-century ethics onto a 19th-century situation, and it comes off as really judgmental.

Also, at one point, Dickens is using his slate and pencil... together. To me, this just screams lack of research. (Slates were used with chalk. And a pencil would've required paper of some sort if you wanted to write with it.)

Overall, I wasn't that impressed with this. It might have more appeal to Dickens fans... although I'm not sure how many of those there are in the picture-book set.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - Carter Reads the Newspaper

Carter Reads the Newspaper
by Deborah Hopkinson
illustrated by Don Tate
Date: 2019
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

“Carter G. Woodson didn’t just read history. He changed it.” As the father of Black History Month, he spent his life introducing others to the history of his people.

Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen. So Carter read the newspaper to him every day. When he was still a teenager, Carter went to work in the coal mines. There he met a man named Oliver Jones, and Oliver did something important: he asked Carter not only to read to him and the other miners, but also research and find more information on the subjects that interested them. “My interest in penetrating the past of my people was deepened,” Carter wrote. His journey would take him many more years, traveling around the world and transforming the way people thought about history.

From an award-winning team of author Deborah Hopkinson and illustrator Don Tate, this first-ever picture book biography of Carter G. Woodson emphasizes the importance of pursuing curiosity and encouraging a hunger for knowledge of stories and histories that have not been told. Illustrations also feature brief biological sketches of important figures from African and African-American history.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I love it when picture books teach me things.

Carter Reads the Newspaper is a picture-book biography of Carter G. Woodson, the man who created Black History Month. It's an interesting look at the importance of celebrating your history, even if it isn't included in the official narrative.

The book talks about Woodson's life from his childhood up until 1926 when he was trying to spread the word about Negro History Week (which would later become Black History Month). His idea was spurred by one of Woodson's Harvard professors who told him that black people had no history. When Woodson argued that they did, the professor challenged him to prove him wrong... and Woodson spent the rest of his life doing just that.

The illustrations are quite nice here, with the theme of the newspaper running throughout; some of the backgrounds feature soft, faded newsprint with washes of colour. On the endpapers are little portraits of a number of black leaders; mini biographies are included for these people at the back of the book.

This book would be great for the classroom, or for any kid who enjoys learning about history. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it just to black kids, either; Woodson is an important and inspiring figure that everyone could benefit from learning about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Publishers for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 5/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.67 out of 5