Here Kitty, Kitty!

Here's a fun cartoon from Scott Metzger:

Heres' the reaction from my editor:

Chalk One Up!

"A Christmas Carol" (2014)

Puffin Chalk Series

Cover Illustrator: Mary Kate McDevitt

Also not a kid version is this edition with a striking "chalk illustrated" cover!

And a really cool back cover too:

Either one would make an awesome poster!

More info at Mary Kate McDevitt's website. 

Double Down!

"A Christmas Carol" (2015)
Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Text: Adam McKeown
Illustrations: Gerald Kelley

Here's another kid-friendly retelling of "A Christmas Carol" without any piano!

Sample pages:

I find these things to be interesting, mainly for the illustrations.

I can't help but notice that Marley's gravestone shows that he was born in 1781 and died in 1836.

That would mean he was 55 when he passed away and if that was seven years earlier from the setting of the story, the story is taking place in 1843, one year prior to the original publication of the book.

Interesting!

"A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" (2017) - Part Two

If you got the chance to watch the BBC presentation of "A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong," I hope you found it as amusing as I did.

Derek Jacobi before things go wrong!

I thought it was clever how it started off like a legitimate production with Sir Derek Jacobi as Scrooge, then went off the rails, sort of like a Spike Jones record. You could probably trick someone if they didn't know!

You may recall that we heard Derek Jacobi in an audio adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" a while back, but he was narrating as Charles Dickens rather than playing Scrooge.

The Dame tells the Sir how it is!

The narrator here is Dame Diana Rigg (still lovely at 80-ish), who within the context of the show is the aunt of one the cast members, Sandra (I think!), played by Charlie Russell.

It's a little confusing to me, as the actors are playing fictional actors in the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and there's a series of these takeoffs. There's some backstage "drama" dealing with the actors' personal lives mixed in, but I was able to follow along pretty well!

The cast does a good job of playing the comedy straight, if you will. They act like they're sincere about trying to put on a good show and never seem like they're intentionally sabotaging it.

I was especially amused by Jonathan Sayer as Dennis who can't remember his lines as Bob Cratchit and has them written all over the set.

Good fun and a surprisingly faithful adaptation.

As I said before, worth a watch!

"A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" (2017) - Part One

"A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" (2017) 

Director: Richard Boden

Scrooge: Derek Jacobi

I've been aware of this BBC show for a while, but didn't get the chance to watch it until I saw it was available (with ads) on YouTube.

Here's the link if you wish to indulge:

Or if you're not sure, here's a snippet to give you a bit of an idea about the show:

I'll give you a chance to check it out, then discuss a bit. (SPOILER: I think it's worth a watch!)

"Humbug" (2015) - 451 Media Group

"Humbug" (2015)
Publisher: 451 Media Group
Writer: A.J. Gentile
Artist: Cosmo White

Here's an interesting extension of the "Scrooge-verse," if you will, in the form of a five-issue comic book, I mean graphic novel, series casting Ebenezer Scrooge as a paranormal investigator.

Here's the blurb:

Meet the world's first paranormal investigator - Ebenezer Scrooge! A dark revisionist take on Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol', Humbug poses the question, 'Whatever happened to Scrooge the day after Christmas Eve and that grave encounter from the Other Side?' Answer: Scrooge opens London's first Paranormal Agency for hire, The House of Humbug. Together with his team of Humbuggers - nephew Fred, Bob Cratchit and Bob's all grown up six-foot, not-so-tiny-son, Tiny Tim, Scrooge together with his turn-of-the-century ghostbusters use their wits and resources to rid the city of malevolent spooks and spirits taking over London! 32 pages, full color.

Issue #1 is shown at the top and here are 2-5:

The series was also collected in this 2017 volume:

It's always interesting to see the Scrooge character taken in new directions!

Oops!

A fun panel from J.B. Handelsman:

But shouldn't the clerk be keeping track of the receipts?

Cratchit!!!

Role Model?

Here's another fun comic panel:

Hopefully reformed Scrooge re-read the book!

Interesting!

This is kind of interesting:

As one can see, this illustration by Wesley Bedrosian for a 2014 "Boston Globe" story places the Ghost of Christmas Present (along with Ignorance and Want) in a contemporary Yuletide scene.

The idea is that some conditions hadn't changed as much since "A Christmas Carol" was published than one would think.

Odd!

This edition has very odd character design on the cover:

The website says it was released in Storbritannien on September 6, 2012.

But "Storbritannien" is Swedish for Great Britain and the website is in English, so now I'm really confused!

I do like the tiles on Scrooge's fireplace, though!

Flashback!

The Scrooge on the cover of this 2018 edition from Brown Chair Books reminds me of something:

I get the vibe of the 1969 animated version from "Famous Classic Tales":

Too bad the art from the cartoon didn't have the same level of detail!

Garbage!

Not quite my thing, but still kind of fun:

And there's a variation:

The Garbage Pail Kids came a bit after my time, but I can see kids liking them.

Baby Scrooge?

Here's a short, children's version of "A Christmas Carol" from PinkFong (the folks behind the infamous "Baby Shark" earworm:

Is it wrong that I kind of like it?

"He Said It!"

This clip from Disney's "DuckTales" TV show is fun:

Webby's reaction at the end is awesome!

He did say it!

Vegan!

This is funny:

Special Edition!

This particular edition not only has a fun cover, but it's formatted to be read more easily by those with dyslexia:

Pretty neat!

Another Edition!

There are so many editions of "A Christmas Carol" out there that you see the occasional one with an eye-catching cover such as this one:

I believe it was published by Arcturus in 2016 and maybe features Arthur Rackham illustrations inside?

It's hard to keep these things straight!

"When Love is Gone" (2017) - Meredith Braun

"When Love is Gone" (2017) 

Meredith Braun

Stage Door Records

And while we're on the subject of "When Love is Gone" from "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992), here's a newer studio version by that film's Belle, Meredith Braun, from 2017.

Give it a listen:

Very nice!

"Scrooge's Night Before Christmas" (2016)

"Scrooge's Night Before Christmas" (2016)
Gibbs Smith
Adaptor: Julie Petersen
Illustrator: Sheryl Dickert

Here's another recent adaptation pf "A Christmas Carol," this one from the "Night Before Christmas" series published by Gibbs Smith.

It's something of a mash-up, as Scrooge's story is told in the style of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," the famous poem credited to Clement C. Moore.

Here are a couple of sample pages:

You can find out more at the Gibbs Smith website.

Good fun!

Lit for Little Hands: "A Christmas Carol" (2019)

Lit for Little Hands: "A Christmas Carol" (2019)

Familius

Adapter: Brooke Jorden

Illustrator: David Miles

We jump ahead to the 21st century for this fun little adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" for youngsters from the "Lit for Little Hands" series!

It's a chunky little board book with a simplified (but not really dumbed-down) text and kid-friendly illustrations:

For extra kid-friendly fun, each two-page spread has some sort of moving part, that you pull or spin or whatever for some little detail. For example, on the left hand side of the above picture of Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past is a little tab (not visible in this stock illustration) that, when pulled, reveals the two of them flying through the window!

You can find out more at the Familius website.

Always good to see new treatments for a new generation!

And props for giving Scrooge a bit of that "frosty rime" on his wiry chin!