Charles Dickens offers a charming narration of the life of Jesus in this book, originally written for his children. I'm quite impressed by how he manages to condense the various elements of the gospels into one coherent, easy-to-follow story. However, from a scholarly perspective, this is also its main flaw. By imposing univocality on the different gospels, Dickens merges the various perspectives into a moral retelling of Jesus' life, sacrificing much of the depth found in the original texts. Nevertheless, this approach is common in children's Bibles, and given that the book was intended as an introduction for his children, one can hardly fault Dickens for the omissions.

Family read aloud in the mornings/evenings...krb 4/1/20

The kids found some things that were different from the Bible. I had to remind them that we were not reading the bible but a retelling of scripture from a father to his children and when we retell something we don't always retell it word for word...krb 4/13/20

Well written, but a little divergent from the Gospel accounts.

A charmingly simple retelling of the gospel of Christ by Dickens’s for his children. I especially loved reading about the history of how it was cherished by his immediate family for years and how it eventually came to be published in the 1930s. His love and warmth for his family and for Christ is palpable.

Very interesting to read this expression of belief given the context of Dickens upbringing, education and life in Anglican, Victorian England. Dickens, from what I can ascertain never professed religious belief himself. He was a harsh critic of the social injustice of his day, often inflicted by professed religionists. He did, however often voice tender faith thru some of the most worthy characters in his masterpieces. It is revealing that he wanted the world to see that he desired his children to feel a reality of deity in the Life of Jesus.

2019-What a lovely book. A great way to bring in the true meaning of Christmas and read of our savior. I really want to make this a tradition to read this every December!
2020- listened to the audio book with my family this year.
2022- re- listened to it. Love this tradition
2024- re-listened to it on Christmas day while my 3 year old napped. Love listening to it each year.

"My dear children, I am very anxious that you should know something about the history of Jesus Christ. For everybody ought to know about Him. No one ever lived who was so good, so kind, so gentle and so sorry for all the people who did wrong, or were in any way ill or miserable, as He was. And He is now in heaven, where we hope to go, and all to meet each other after we are dead, and there be happy always together, you never can think what a good place heaven is without knowing who He was and what He did." - Chapter the First

This beautiful little book was such a refreshing read. Dickens's testimony of Christ is so pure and genuine, and although our beliefs differ somewhat in small ways here and there, his knowledge of and belief in the reality of the Savior can be felt, as it is very evident in his plainly expressed words. Also, the fact that he was writing to his children and that these words were never intended for publishing is actually such a beautiful touch--it's so much more intimate and heartfelt. Although a short read, it is one of the most powerful things one can pick up.

Love reading this with my children. Such a sweet reminder to share my testimony of our Savior with my own children.

Un hermoso resumen, muy sentido, de la vida de Jesús. Con una escritura muy simple para lo que Dickens nos tenía acostumbrados. Es conmovedor leerlo sabiendo que la hizo para sus hijos.

5. My aunt Peggy gave me this book several decades ago… Not exactly sure when… And it absolutely absolutely refreshed me. I have gifted many close friends with it.

When Dickens’ youngest son set off for Australia, he sent with him a letter with this to say, “I put a New Testament among your books… and with the same hopes, that made me write an easy account of it for you when you were a child. Because it is the best book that ever was or will be known in the world.”

Dickens wrote this little commentary on the gospels to teach his children all of the contents of the books therein… but in his own words and with his own English flare. Unfortunately, that meant that there were more than a few kind of heretical moments. At times, he seemed to add facts that weren’t there or get circumstances confused. He added lessons to parables that Jesus didn’t clearly specify. Most immediately was a line from the angels to the shepherds: “There is a child born to-day in the city of Bethlehem near here, who will grow up to be so good that God will love Him as His own Son.” After that, Dickens included quotes of people saying that Jesus is the Son of God, including at the Mount of Transfiguration, but he never said in narrative that He was, in fact, God’s Son. This is either an egregious oversight or an alarming omission.

To Dickens’ credit, he never wanted this book to be published. He left it to his children with the stipulation that it not be published. It was published after the death of his last surviving child. All being said, it was a nice thought with some sweet moments where you see Dickens seeking to teach his children about Christianity and the heart of Christ… but it missed the mark by a wide margin.

lovely retelling (: glad i got to read this even though it was originally never meant to be published