The illustrators
Charles Dickens’ seasonal novella A Christmas Carol is a holiday favorite which has not been out of print since it was first published in 1843 with four color and four black & white illustrations by John Leech.
Though Dickens’s work was not originally aimed at the younger audience, the story has nonetheless been popular with children, and several modern editions are specifically aimed at young readers!
I have listed my favorites below. Enjoy! And Happy Holidays!
Newly Added!!!
Montse Rubio
This is my first Litjoy Crate purchase and this little book is a delight!
Catalan artist Montse Rubio’s gorgeous watercolor illustrations are bold and abundant; placed throughout the book as spot illustration, full-page, and full-page spreads!
Litjoy is a company whose books I have been interested in for some time and I am so happy to have their special edition of A Christmas Carol with gold page edging, illustrated endpapers and eye-catching wrap around cover!
Litjoy LLC, 2023
Where to Buy:
Robert Ingpen
I love Ingpen’s instinct for emotion and expression, and this talent is especially appreciated in his version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol where so much of the journey takes place within. On the cover you see a reformed and wiser Ebeneezer Scrooge with an awakened kindness in the eyes; you will find this attention to emotional detail all throughout the lavishly illustrated pages, where there is barely a page to be found without illustration.
Added bonus! This version includes Dickens’ short story A Christmas Tree.
Note: There is an abridged version available. The two have the same cover…the abridged version has 64 pages (unabridged is 188). Link below.
I’ve done a blog post on Robert Ingpen’s illustrated Classics – if you are interested in others please visit it here.
Several publications – my copy is 2008, Penguin Young Readers Group
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Robert Ingpen from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Robert Ingpen from Abebooks
NEW (Abridged) ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Robert Ingpen from Amazon
Yelena Bryksenkova
This is a pretty one!
Page edges are gilded; the cover is an unexpected deep blue embossed with gold foil, and the chapter headings are decorated with chains and wreaths, but these embellishments are of little consequence when compared to the rich and enchanting acryla gouache paintings by Russian/American artist Yelena Bryksenkova, who on her website states her inspiration to arise from her love of home and the comfort of everyday objects.
Full page illustrations about every one or two flips of the page, along with spot art and word embellishments to fill in the gaps. I love this version.
Chronicle Books San Francisco, 2015
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Yelena Bryksenkova from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Yelena Bryksenkova from Abebooks
Angel Dominguez
Ebeneezer Scrooge is a fox, the Ghost of Christmas Past a lemur, Present an orangutan and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come looks to be a gorilla under that cloak – I had been worried that my son might be too young for this classic but then I saw this version!
It is true…the cover design leaves something to be desired. However, do not judge a book by it’s cover in this case! The artwork in this unabridged version by Spanish illustrator Angel Dominguez are lavish and extraordinary, appearing on most of the pages.
I am a great admirer of Dominguez’s work and I was saddened to learn of his passing away earlier this year. Happily, he has already given the world many beautifully illustrated classics – I will be doing a feature on this illustrator very soon!
Published in 2019 by Racehorse for Young Readers
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Angel Dominguez from AMAZON
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Angel Dominguez from Abebooks
Roberto Innocenti
Roberto Innocenti illustrations are remarkably crisp, using light to emphasis visual drama, with clarity that reveals fascinating detail into the lives of the characters of the story. Every few turns of the pages brings the reader to a full color full page or double spread encounter. Without a doubt, the best Marley Ghost/Scrooge meet-up ever!
This is one of my top choices.
First Published in 1990 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang/Creative Education Inc.
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Roberto Innocenti from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Roberto Innocenti from Abebooks
Quentin Blake
This version is just fabulous!
British illustrator Quentin Blake applies his creative wit and quirky imagination to depict Dickens memorable characters. Alternating color and black and white illustrations adorn the majority of pages, making it another one of my favorites for younger kids; the jolly feel to the illustrations help to lighten the darker elements of the story.
Various Publications – most recently published 2021 by Pavilion Children’s Books
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Quentin Blake from AMAZON
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Quentin Blake from Abebooks
Michael Foreman
Michael Foreman’s prolific illustrations include atmospheric black-and-white line drawings as well as full color slides, both of which support the ghostly tone and the quirky humor of this story. One of the more popular illustrators of this classic, many versions have been published, including a collector’s edition by The Folio Society (see my For the Collector Section below)
First Published in 1983 by Victor Gollancz, Ltd
Where to Buy:
∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Michael Foreman from Abebooks
Lisbeth Zwerger
Born and raised in Vienna, Lisbeth Zwerger took over two years to create the illustrations for A Christmas Carol and the insightful dimension of her work proves the time worth the task! This is the only contemporary version I have come across which merely hints at the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present; instead of presenting them directly in illustration she intelligently suggests their presence. Why the Ghost of Christmas Future is directly illustrated when the other two are not can be an interesting topic of discussion.
Most recently published by NorthSouth Books, September 14, 2021.
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger from Abebooks
P.J. LYNCH
P.J, Lynch is a talented and revered illustrator who won the Kate Greenaway medal twice!
What I love about this version is it’s relationship with time, and it’s dream-like consistency, as if we are all looking through a secret door at a story happening long ago.
Published in 2006 by Candlewick Press
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by P.J. Lynch from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by P.J. Lynch from Abebooks
the Classic Illustrators
John Leech
Original!
If you want to understand Dicken’s relationship with the illustrator John Leech and the vision, excitement, distress, desperation and courage behind the four color illustrations and four black and white line drawings adorning this miraculous story than you must watch The Man Who Invented Christmas starring Dan Stevens as Dickens or read the book that inspired the film by Les Standiford.
It was John Leech who took Dickens’ vision and prose and came up with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future that we have become so familiar with, and, in that way that all original illustrators of novels destined to become classics do, became a creator in his own right.
Leech passed away less than a year after A Christmas Carol was published.
First published on December 19, 1843 by Chapman and Hall of London, Newest Edition published October 1, 2021 by Arcturus Ornate Classics.
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by John Leech from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by John Leech from Abebooks
Arthur Rackham
The Golden Age of illustration, a period lasting from roughly 1880 to 1920, yielded one of the finest book illustrators in Arthur Rackham. You will not have to search hard to find a cornucopia of information about this British illustrator as he is a Great.
His work is characterized by robust pen and ink drawings, combined with watercolor and they are exquisite, and in his version of A Christmas Carol, Rackham beautifully captures the Victorian age with a calm feel and good humor.
First published in 1915 by William Heinemann Ltd, . London and J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. My version is an unabridged replication by Calla, published in 2018. I have also included the cover to the Everyman’s Library Children’s Classic Series, 1994.
Where to Buy:
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol illustrated by Arthur Rackham (Calla) from Amazon
NEW ∞ A Christmas Carol illustrated by Arthur Rackham (Everyman’s) from Amazon
USED ∞ A Christmas Carol illustrated by Arthur Rackham (Everyman’s) from Abebooks
Everett Shinn
While exploring A Christmas Carol I came across a great many older versions, each with their own unique style, and it was hard not to feature them. However this one, by American illustrator Everett Shinn, I just had to. Firstly, the color pages are on the same type of paper as the rest of the book, which I love! Secondly, almost every page is illustrated with either full color illustrations or bordered with black and white line drawings. It’s a great one!
Beautifully introduced by Lionel Barrymore.
Published in 1938 by Garden City Publishing Company
Where to Buy:
∞ A Christmas Carol Illustrated by Everett Shinn from Abebooks
Other A Christmas Carol Illustrators
There are three more illustrators at present that I wish to add to the above, and will do so as soon as I acquire copies. These versions are illustrated by Ronald Searle, Francine Haskins and Jill de Haan. In the meantime, please check out the video below featuring the illustrations of Ronald Searle!
Here are others that I didn’t feature above but are still worth mentioning. Several of them have gorgeous cover art! Look for these on Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, Alibris Books, Abebooks, or find them on internet archives or from your local bookstore or library!
Adapted Versions, Readers and Coloring Books!
If you have been following my blog you will know that I am a huge supporter of unabridged versions. However, if A Christmas Carol in it’s entirety is a bit much, I would love to recommend the following beautifully adapted versions that I came across:
A Christmas Carol retold by Jeremy Hauck and Illustrated by Maite Schmitt
My son and I are currently reading Dracula from this series and he (and I!) love it! I love Maite Schmitt’s artwork, and the tidy, colorful appeal of the books themselves.
To be published September 2023 by Cider Mill Press
Check out the illustrations:
∞ Amazon
A Christmas Carol retold by Tony Mitton and Illustrated by Mike Redman
This adapted version is so cool! Written in rhyme with fantastic illustrations.
Published December 15, 2020 by Orchard Books
Check out the illustrations:
∞ A Christmas Carol retold by Tony Mitton and illustrated by Mike Redman from Amazon
A Christmas Carol retold by Adam McKeown and Illustrated by Gerald Kelley
This adapted version from 2015 is both beautifully retold as well as interestingly illustrated. I read this to my 6-year old son, it being his first experience with the A Christmas Carol story, and he was entranced.
Published in 2015 by Random House Children’s Books
Check out the illustrations:
∞ A Christmas Carol retold by Adam McKeown and illustrated by Gerald Kelley from Amazon
A Christmas Carol by Sarah Powell (Seek and Find Classics)
Oh my goodness have you seen these? They are just wonderful! Containing a character tree and map of London among pages of “seek and find” the characters and objects in the story. Powell’s illustrations are imaginative and robust – I just love this one!
Published in 2017 by BuzzPop
Check out more detail:
∞ Seek and Find A Christmas Carol by Sarah Powell from AMAZON
A Christmas Carol abridged by Josh Greenhut and Illustrated by Brett Helquist
Carefully abridged by Josh Greenhut and illustrated by Brett Helquist who’s work you might recognize from the Series of Unfortunate Events books, the illustrations are bold and moving. (See below for interior detail)
Published in 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers
Check out more detail:
∞ A Christmas Carol adapted by Josh Greenhut and illustrated by Brett Helquist from Amazon
A Christmas Carol Easy-to Read for Early Readers adapted by Phillip Gooden and Illustrated by Pipi Sposito
My son is learning to read so more and more I’ve been on the lookout for books he can read himself and this sweet little reader really caught my eye. the illustrations are black and white but so very cool!
Published in 2020 by Sweet Cherry Easy Classics
Check out more detail:
∞ A Christmas Carol Easy Reader by Phillip Gooden from AMAZON
A Christmas Carol adapted by Gill Tavner and Illustrated by Karen Donnelly
Baker Street Readers are retellings of literary classics in 64 pages, with full color illustrations. These books make classic stories available to young readers as a bridge to the full texts. Check out the illustrations…they are fun!
Published in 2018 by Baker Street Readers
Check out more interior detail:
A Christmas Carol Coloring Book (A Coloring Classic) by illustrators Kate Ware and Vladimir Aleksic
Intricate line work combines with iconic quotations and scenes to create coloring pages that will inspire creativity as you navigate marvelous detail. I love this one!
Published in 2016 by Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Check out more interior detail:
∞ A Christmas Carol A Coloring Classic by Kate Ware and Vladimir Aleksic from AMAZON
For the Collector
The Folio Society Illustrated by Michael Foreman
Michael Foreman (who’s work I featured above) is The Folio Society’s illustrator of choice for their version of A Christmas Carol.
From the Folio Website: Resplendent in Christmas colors in its new Folio Collectables binding, A Christmas Carol features a capering Scrooge on the front, while the specter of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come lurks expectantly on the spine and back cover. Michael Foreman’s atmospheric black-and-white illustrations evoke both the ghostly nature and the sprightly humor of this classic story.
The “red” version above is just black and white, but if you prefer to have Michael Foreman’s color illustrations included, here is the cover and a listing for the Folio Society version from 2003.
Check out The Folio Society’s A Christmas Carol, 2003 illustrated by Michael Foreman.
Robert Ingpen is my favorite version!
Kate, Ingpen’s version is really great…,his style works so well with the story!