A Christmas Carol: The Junior Novel

by James Ponti (Adapter), Walt Disney Company

The timeless tale of an old miser who must face Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come, is re-imagined by cinematic visionary Robert Zemeckis. The three Ghosts remind Scrooge of the man he once used to be, the cold truth of who he is today, and what will happen if Scrooge does not strive to be a better man for tomorrow! Set during the holidays, A Christmas Carol is sure to stand out as a classic holiday film for years to come

Genres: Classics, Christmas, Media Tie In

137 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

James Ponti is the New York Times Bestselling author of three Middle Grade book series: the DEAD CITY trilogy about a secret society that polices the undead who live beneath New York City; the Edgar Award-winning FRAMED! series about a pair of Sherlockian tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, D.C.; and the all-new CITY SPIES about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 spy team.

James grew up in Atlantic Beach, Florida and lives in Orlando. He's a die hard fan of the Boston Red Sox, the USC Trojans, and the Italian National Soccer Team. He loves travel, writing, and spending time with his amazing family.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.


Now this version I can understand. Such a classic. Thanks Disney!

[Anne Afshar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this children's version to see how it is for children and compare it. Now I want to see this movie version. Old English would be difficult for children to understand, so I think this is a good version for children to comprehend. It's changed in a few places but it's to set a point and it's fine that way. This is a good story to read together with kids.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

My YA son and I read this together at Christmas, because we've seen and loved so many film versions of the story. This was an engaging version, and we usually read longer than planned because we didn't want to stop.

The language was definitely more modern and direct, but not childish. The imagery could also be modern, but rarely jarringly so (comparing a scene to a the flickering images of a movie projector?!).

I compared various moments to the original, and found that the adapter had added Scrooge's emotional and physical reactions, whereas Dickens had simply described what Scrooge had seen and what he said. We generally liked these changes, which isn't to say they are exactly an improvement over the original (which we haven't actually read yet). One change I didn't like was describing Scrooge tormenting a rat by stepping on its tail and poking it with his foot or something. I felt that gave him a psychopathic vibe that wasn't fitting.

This version also included a couple scenes that we don't remember seeing in various film versions (visiting a mining camp and a lighthouse). These scenes and the reactions I mentioned earlier made the story feel fresh even though we had heard it many times.

I definitely recommend this version for young and old!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

👌👌

My children love these little books. They thoroughly enjoy each and every story, as if they are all unique and individual without any cause for similarity among them. Even though sometimes, they might seem tedious and repetitive to me as a parent, I do enjoy being able to read short-stories to my children that are clean and respective.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful Christmas story

We love this version of A Christmas Carol. My children are rather sensitive so the movie was way too scary. This story was quite scary for them as well, but not too scary. They are 5, 7 and 9.

[Lawona · Rating 5 out of 5]

People can change if they really want too.

All my years I have never sat down and read this book. I've got to say it was more than great. While reading the book it came to life in my mind eye just like a movie and couldn't stop reading it til it was done.

[danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book.

It was a good book. Good for around Christmas time. And I have to write 5 more words so ok

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic

Thought this was a great book to read during the holidays to remind us all of Christmas Spirit.
Comments from an 7 Year Old: “I love it!”

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for 3-5 graders!

[Marissa Gilstrap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as a read-aloud to the kids. Great re-telling of Charles Dickens’ novel for a child to understand.

[lisa lorentz]

Christmas carol

For all children : please read this book it will bring you spirit and joy of Christmas it might be a little scary but it’s okay to be scared

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 A classic book christmas book. A cute, short book. Overall a good read. Have really nothing to say about this one.

[Mandy Callihan]

Love it!!!!

I love this book what I like about it is the past present and future. And also how he starts to get feeling for people and things because he knows what's going to happen to him in the future if he does not change!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!! :-)

[Kendra Goucher · Rating 5 out of 5]

i LOVED this book! one of the best ever now i just have to see the movie!

[Ki ❝The Book Scavenger❞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this in 7th grade and we watched the movie. It was good.

[Louisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

l know this isn't supposed to be the original and it's only a retelling of the movie but it's not very well done.

[Katie Hernandez-Zuno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it a lot because it had stuff of Christmas and I love it a lot. Also it had a lot of adventure and a lot of Christmas stuff.

[Tucker Coon]

I like when scrooge helped all his friends and poor people and gave them a lot of money because they need it.

[the_ya_book_talk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent!

[amanda_coffee_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.5 always amazing to read old classic

[karly]

heard of the movie and hope to read the book soon