A Christmas Carol with Grandfather Time - Rose English - ★★★
AUTHOR: Rose English
ILLUSTRATOR: Pablo Rodriguez
GENRE: Christmas Picture Book, Retelling.
RATING: 3 stars.
In a Nutshell: A sweet story about a magical grandfather clock who sets to teach a young boy an important life lesson. This is a picture book retelling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Good intent, but will work even better with some finetuning.
Story Synopsis:
Written from the first person point of view of Grandfather Time, the magical narrator tells us of a little boy named Eb, short for Ebenezer, who is selfish and doesn’t share his toys. To teach him the value of caring and sharing, Grandfather Time calls upon the ghosts Past, Present, and Future. These three special characters then set out to show Eb the error of his ways.
At my grandparents’ house, there used to be a huge grandfather clock. Whenever I visited their place in my childhood, I was fascinated by this beautiful giant as it seemed so mysterious and exotic. One thing that always startled me was its huge “Boing” gongs at every quarter of an hour. Twelve o’clock was particularly tough on the ears. 😄 When I saw the grandfather clock on the cover of this book, my mind went in nostalgia mode and I happily grabbed the opportunity to read it. To my pleasant surprise, the clock in this book also “boings” on every single page. (Thankfully, no loud sound effects accompany the boings!) I wonder how many of today’s children even know what a grandfather clock is. I hope at least a few of them learn about this timepiece through this book.
By itself, the story is quite sweet and Christmassy in spirit. Grandfather Time is a special character, no doubt. But he is accompanied by his friends – the three ghosts – who are equally special. Children will surely enjoy the identities of these “ghosts”. That said, none of them are actually ghosts, so no need to be worried if the book will be scary for little ones. This is not at all as dark and spooky as the original.
The lesson that Eb needs to be taught is also quite relevant. In a world where more and more kids are sticking to screens and isolated play instead of going out and enjoying with their friends in open spaces, this book offers a valuable lesson on the importance of sharing and caring and being a good friend.
One thing the book could have done better is ensuring a fluid plot continuity. The story is a retelling of the classic Dickens book, ‘A Christmas Carol’. However, as the original plot has been revised and condensed into a picture book version, the detailing is obviously quite restricted. The reason why Grandfather Time feels that Eb doesn’t share doesn’t come out clearly because the introductory scenes aren’t about sharing but about Eb not listening to his parents. The changeovers between the three ghosts happens too quickly, and the exact way by which Eb learns his lesson isn’t too clear. Two of the ghosts don’t speak (I can’t tell you why!), so their instant impact on Eb is even more befuddling. I wish there had been some more pages to smoothen out the transition in Eb’s behaviour. As picture books come in standard page counts, maybe a 48-page version would have worked better than a 34-page one.
The only thing that I had strong mixed feelings about was the illustrations. On the positive side, the artwork is inclusive, with some pages depicting children of varied races and even a girl in a wheelchair. The colours are bright and vibrant. The rendition of Grandfather Time was my absolute favourite. However, I didn’t like the artistic rendering of the remaining characters. Somehow, the drawings made the humans (both adults and children) appear like stock art instead of feeling alive and endearing. I was also confused by some of the creative choices. Like, why was Eb’s mum watering the plants at bedtime? Why would a page about kids happily having fun in the park and caring and sharing with joy show a rude boy blowing a raspberry at another child? I didn’t get that decision at all. That said, I must stress that art is always a matter of individual taste. What didn’t work for me might very well work for you.
The book is written in rhythmic prose in the ABCB rhyming scheme. The poetic meter is mostly consistent throughout the book, which is quite read-aloud friendly. The vocabulary seems fairly manageable for the target age, with the tough words being easy to explain.
On the whole, this indie work presents a good tale with a loveable main character in Grandfather Time and a valuable life lesson. If it fine-tunes the continuity issues, it will be a nice addition to your little one’s library. The official target reading age is 2-6 years, and due to the nature of the story, it will work very well for bedtime reading as well as a Christmas book.
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and author Rose English for a complimentary copy of “A Christmas Carol with Grandfather Time”, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
The digital version of this book is currently available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
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Author Rose English:
Working as a school librarian, and sharing her love of books with children, was the best job she ever had. However, life moves on and another chapter was only a page turn away. Working in a very different library now, she is a key worker for the NHS helping to run the Medical Equipment Library in Wye Valley NHS Trust.
After winning FIRST PRIZE in a short story competition with 'The Magic of Grandfather Christmas' she is inspired to transform the tale into a collection of stories for all ages. ‘Young Ebenezer' is inspired by the Dickens classic 'A Christmas Carol' and brought into modern times with a strong theme of sharing and caring.
Rose has a little sidekick called Miss Ruby Heart, a ruby King Charles spaniel from the Grandfather Time Series. The puppy is the Ghost of Christmas Past and features on the 'Young Ebenezer’ covers.
Connect with her on:
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Blurb:
A seasonal treat, a modern, lyrical re-telling of the Charles Dickens classic - 'A Christmas Carol.'
The book is specially designed for families to share during the Holiday Season, or for young competent readers to try for themselves. This is a beautiful picture book to treasure, with full colour images on every page.
Grandfather Time is a magical clock he brings us the story of young Ebenezer, a boy who is not very caring and really hates sharing. One Christmas Eve, not so very long ago Grandfather Time decides to teach the boy a lesson. So with the help of his friends; the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future and with lessons to learn he brings forth the first tutor - a little golden-red King Charles spaniel, called Miss Ruby Heart.
Will this unlikely pair be able to teach the boy the error of his ways? Or will he be doomed to be a scruffy, lonely teenager stuck forever in his own little world?
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Check out this book:
Buy Links: https://mybook.to/GrandfatherTimeXmas
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This has been a stop on the #AChristmasCarolWithGrandfatherTime blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!
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