MMGM: If You Love Dickens: 4 Middle Grade Gems + 1 Cozy Adult Series

Did you know Charles Dickens was born February 7? I’m celebrating by sharing what I love (and don’t love) about his writing—and a few Dickens-style picks for kids and grown-ups.

If you love classics and want kid-friendly ‘Dickens vibes,’ read on.

(This post is an update from a post that ran February 2014.)

I like to read one Dickens book a year. At Christmas, I read Cricket on the Hearth, a romantic comedy set at Christmas. I also tried The Chimes (think A Christmas Carol at New Year's with darker themes), but realized why it is not so famous. :) Now I've started on Pickwick Papers, which is known for being humorous, exactly my kind of book.

I've been thinking about Dickens (who after Austen, is my favorite classic author for adults) and what he’s taught me as a writer.

What I love about Dickens:

    1. Voice-y dialogue: Dickens is a master at making each character sound unique.

 

See if you can guess who said these lines:

📝 Mini-Quiz: Can you name the character?

See if you can guess who said these famous lines before you scroll to the bottom for the answers!

A. “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness...”

B. “I’m a very umble person.”

C. “Barkis is willin’”

D. “It is a far, far better thing that I do...”

E. “Please, sir, I want some more.”

(Drop your guesses in the comments!)

     2. Memorable tags & motifs Along with dialogue, Dickens gives all his characters a physical attribute, mannerism,   dialogue tic, or repeated word or image. For example, Tiny Tim has his crutch, Mr. Micawber has a shiny bald head and a monocle, and Miss Havisham wears that ghastly wedding dress.

 
3. Names with meaning: Dickens's character’s names can sometimes be a little bit over the top, but they telegraph something about the character. Like Uriah Heep (which rhymes with creep) would not be the same with another name.

     4. Threads that braid into one plot: Dickens's plots are masterful, the way he weaves in so many different plot strands into a unified whole. You never meet a character once in Dickens, and even the smallest characters are important. 

Alas, I do have a few Dickens pet-peeves (gasp!):

1.  Sometimes he uses types or roles as labels. In many of his stories the characters are not named, but they are only referred to the as the “traveler” or the “little lady”. This only leaves a reader (like me!) confused. 

 

2. Like most Victorian novelists, the “show don’t tell” rule is not adhered to. This reminds me how modern fiction trusts the reader a bit more.  

 

3.  Dickens' Female Characters: Although most of Dickens's minor women characters are interesting (Nancy, Betsy Trotwood, Maggie, Peggoty), I prefer his vivid minor characters to his idealized heroines, like Little Dorrit or Agnes from David Copperfield). 

If you like Dickens’s style, but want to read something modern or to introduce him to kids, here are a few titles:

 

A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkins, great for ages 4-8

 

 

With Deborah's fine attention to detail, rich research, and kid-friendly prose, she tells the story about Dickens. Although a picture book, I think older readers would enjoy this and the beautiful art. I didn't know that Dickens once worked on The Strand, which is something that turns up in The Wingfeather Saga. 

Update: When I shared this post on Instagram, Hopkinson commented that she has a forthcoming book about Dickens and his dogs!  "Mr. D and his dogs Turk and Linda play a role in Lucky's Home for Lost and Hungry Dogs, out in 2027!" 

 

Independent Reads or Read Alouds: 

 

 

The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, The Great Blue Death, and a Boy Named Eel, also by by Deborah Hopkinson 

 

Eel is a character who’d be best friends with Oliver Twist. He has spunk, charisma, and a lot of heart. Hopkinson’s style and the way that unconnected characters ended up connecting in the end reminded me a lot of Dickens.  Content note: There is some gruesomeness in describing the Blue Death, so not for squeamish readers. 

 

 

The Traitor's Gate by Avi is also told in the Dickens style. I loved how Avi emulated Dicken-style language and plotting in this. This involves John Huffman whose father has just been sentenced to Whitecross Street Prison. This was based on Dickens's early life.

 

  

 

The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson

 

If your family loves quirky names + big-hearted humor, this one scratches the Dickens itch—even though it’s fantasy. I couldn't help but wonder if Peterson was inspired by Dickens in naming a group of wanderer characters The Strand. The harsh elements of the Fork Factory (in Book 2) are pure Dickens. I reviewed the first book here. There is also an animated series out that is perfect for the whole family.

 

Start Here with Dickens 

• If you want light and funny: Cricket on the Hearth.
• If you want short and classic: A Christmas Carol
• If you want a longer, coming-of-age: David Copperfield

 

 

Masterpiece Adaptation of David Copperfield with a young Daniel Radcliffe. 

For adults, but so wholesome that these could be used as a read aloud or teens could read:

 

The Moosepath League Series by Van Reid

 

  

Set in Maine in the late 1800s, these novels follow a club of five gentlemen who solve various mysteries. The author, Van Reid, is like Dickens with a splash of Garrison Keiller. These novels are funny, poignant, and although there are antagonists, the characters are fine people that you would love to have as friends. Recently in Friends of the Moosepath League, Reid mentioned how Pickwick Papers--and the desire to write something humorous--inspired these books. I dare you not to read these and not walk away smiling.

 

L.M. Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables) also has nods to Dickens in her work (like the twins Davy and Dora). That’s part of the joy of reading classics: the conversation keeps going. 

Happy Birthday, Dickens!

Thank you for the legacy you’ve left to English literature.

Max’s Take (out of a 5 bone scale)

Max, the Reading Dog

 

 

 

 

 

Rating: 🦴 🦴 🦴

Dickens didn't produce many heroic dogs, but I’ll give him three bones for trying.

I’m not a fan of Bull’s-eye, the mean dog belonging to Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist, and Jip (from David Copperfield) is just a spoiled lap dog. Where are the brave, book-loving rescues like me? Dickens was a master of characters, but I think he could have used a few more 'Good Boys' in his plots!

Did I hear there's going to be a book about Dickens's dogs? Count me in! 

Your Turn: 

 

Do you like Dickens? Have you read any book ones that emulate his style? 

 

For more friendship-filled middle grade picks, visit Always in the Middle Always in the Middle! 

 

 

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Did you guess them all? Here are the answers to our Dickens Mini-Quiz:

    A. Mr. Micawber (David Copperfield) — The master of the "Micawber Principle" regarding happiness  and debt!
    B. Uriah Heep (David Copperfield) — The most "umble" (and creepy) villain in literature.
    C. Mr. Barkis (David Copperfield) — A man of few words, but very clear intentions.
    D. Sydney Carton (A Tale of Two Cities) — One of the most selfless and moving endings in all of fiction.
    E. Oliver Twist (Oliver Twist) — The famous request that started it all.