#30 in Middle grade
A Christmas Carol
- 116
- Pages
- about 2 h
- Reading time
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
Dickens’s ghost story is short, warm and unashamedly direct: its plea for compassion and generosity is spelled out so plainly that some readers find it a little obvious. What carries it is atmosphere, since few books summon the feeling of Christmas so completely, and Scrooge’s change of heart still satisfies. At 116 pages it is an easy read for one or two evenings, and suits anyone who wants a seasonal classic without effort.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. In the process, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 1,402 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 90% of the weight and the score stays at 8.1 — the Middle grade average of 8.0 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.9 | 113 | 8% |
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 1.3K | 92% |
Frequently asked
What age is A Christmas Carol for?
A Christmas Carol sits on the Middle grade shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 8–12. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 116 pages — shorter than 95% of the ranked books in Middle grade.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Middle grade — with scores between 7.5 and 8.6, closest to this book.
