Review: Dear Mr. Dickens
Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe Albert Whitman & Co. Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton Buy at Bookshop.org Dear Mr. Dickens , written by Nancy Churnin and illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe, is an engaging and inspiring tribute to the power of the written word. In the world of this picture book, which is based on a true story, 19th-century author Charles Dickens captivates readers with his stories and inspires positive social change. But his portrayal of an outlaw Jewish character has one of his readers, Eliza Davis, concerned that the depiction could aggravate the already difficult situation for Jews in England in the 1860s. Churnin poignantly shows how upsetting it can be to read such a portrayal as she describes Eliza reading Oliver Twist : “The [criminal] character’s name was Fagin, but over and over Dickens wrote the Jew, the Jew, the Jew . Each time the word hurt like a hammer on Eliza’s heart.” Eliza writes