The Dickens Trilogy contains the classic novels A Christmas Carol, The Cricket on the Hearth, and The Chimes: A Goblin Story. Each book is reproduced in its entirety and includes Michael’s “language illustrations”—close-ups of poetic techniques, four-level analyses of interesting grammar, and comments about writing strategies. Challenging vocabulary is defined at the bottom of each page.

Dickens was the greatest genius of the Victorian novel. This trilogy gives young readers an introduction to him and an opportunity to enjoy his work without having to tackle one of his long novels.

The special features in these editions are designed to support the book in a reader’s way, making it needless to stop reading and look something up in a reference book. They are meant to flow unobtrusively with the story, available as quick, elective glances for the enjoyment of young readers. They also help to demonstrate how profoundly formal language study benefits reading. Children will treasure these books for a lifetime.