School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 5-8?Opening with Dickens's touring life and final London performance, Rosen then turns to the writer's humble beginnings and nomadic childhood, paying particular attention to the people he met, the sights he saw, and the situations he endured?all of which were to find their way into his writings. The author looks at 1800s London, pointing out the societal changes that were to influence Dickens's progressive thinking. He investigates the writer's best-known works: A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations. For the first three, Rosen retells the basic plots and clarifies the major characters; he covers the fourth work in greater depth, giving a fairly detailed yet age-appropriate analysis of the characters and of the meaning behind some of Dickens's literary choices. The author excerpts relevant sections from the novels and explores the writer's legacy. Ingpen's marvelous acrylic illustrations, whether small inserts or color spreads, lend a sense of realism to the prose, particularly in the details of period dress. The full-page portraits of some of the major characters give clear insight into their physical attributes and emotional realities. Though geared to a similar audience as that of Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema's excellent Charles Dickens (HarperCollins, 1993), this title has merit for elucidating some of the literary devices for which Dickens is known. It will be a welcome addition to libraries looking for new ways to promote his classics, particularly as Christmas approaches and a new film version of Oliver Twist is released.?Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.