Commemorating Charles Dickens' 200th Birthday

February 2012 will commemorate the 200th Birthday of Charles Dickens, as his birthdate is February 7, 1812. He was an Aquarian. And don't forget that Dickens' taxidermic pet bird of which Edgar Allen Poe wrote the infamous poem, "The Raven," is an artifact on display at Philadelphia's Free Library.

Image source: Wikipedia

Anyhoo, a historical book for children is due for release November 2011 to honor Dickens. Entitled, "Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London," the book is authored by children's author and journalist, Andrea Warren.

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reviews.rebeccareid.com

Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, the book is for a tweener/YA reading audience. Nevertheless, it promises to be a very interesting and important read, particularly if you are interested in understanding street literature from an historical perspective. Here is the product description of the book:

Provoked by the horrors he saw every day, Charles Dickens wrote novels that were originally intended as instruments for social change — to save his country’s children.

Charles Dickens is best known for his contributions to the world of literature, but during his young life, Dickens witnessed terrible things that stayed with him: families starving in doorways, babies being “dropped” on streets by mothers too poor to care for them, and a stunning lack of compassion from the upper class. After his family went into debt and he found himself working at a shoe-polish factory, Dickens soon realized that the members of the lower class were no different than he, and, even worse, they were given no chance to better themselves. It was then that he decided to use his greatest talent, his writing ability, to tell the stories of those who had no voice.

Hmmm...the same can be said for many authors of today's street lit.....

Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It is already starting to get good pre-pub reviews. Rebecca Reid, of the reputable book review blog site, "Rebecca Reads" provides a particularly insightful review, and Booklist has given it a starred review. I am looking forward to reading this book. I hope you are too.