Charles Dickens – Scenes from an Extraordinary Life by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

This graphic biography for middle grade heartens with the story of Charles Dickens – one of the greatest writers of all time who wrote Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist among many other famous stories.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was born in Portsmouth, England during the age of war and Industrial Revolution. He witnessed the poverty and abuse and sympathized with those less fortunate.

His father was the wages clerk for the Royal Navy, and his job moved him and his family from place to place. He inherited his comic voice from his mother, which he used with his talent for story telling from early age. He entertained grow-ups at local inns.

For a while, the family lived close to a small theatre where songs came through the thin walls and the whole family would often join in dancing. When the family moved to London and his father no longer could afford to pay for his education, Charles stayed home, reading books, including Robinson Crusoe.

In 1823, at eleven, Charles got lost in the bustling streets of London which were filled with pickpockets, rogues and other characters which later appeared in his stories.

Theatres were the cheap entertainment of the day. Charles had his own toy theatre. From early age, he wrote and acted in some of his own plays.

His father had no sense of managing money. Thus, leaving family in much debt. Charles was forced by his parents to work at factory at twelve.

His father was sent to debtor’s prison. After he paid his debt thanks to his small inheritance from his mother, Charles was sent back to school. But it was his father’s decision. His mother wanted him to stay and work at factory. Charles felt bitter about this throughout his life.

When his father’s money troubles continued, Charles left school for good in 1827 and became a lawyer’s office boy. In his spare time, with a fellow clerk, they performed at a local theatre.

At sixteen, in 1828, he got a position as a newspaper reporter. He also began to write short stories which began to be published regularly. He became friend of editor whose daughter enchanted Charles, and they got married in 1836.

At twenty-five, Charles wrote a news series for a magazine. He immersed himself into creating characters by mimicking them. He looked in the mirror and made facial contortions or talked rapidly in a low voice.

In 1838, he visited the infamous Yorkshire schools to which unwanted boys were sent and treated badly. This led him to writing Nicholas Nickleby.

In 1842, he visited the US and was treated like a superstar followed by a multitude.

In 1843, A Christmas Carol became favorite Christmas fairy tale.

In 1850, he wandered for miles at night, revisiting some old sites, including the factory and the place nearby where he stayed. This place continued to haunt him even when he was happy. This led him to write David Copperfield.

In 1851, his fascination for detectives inspired him to invent one of the first fictional police detectives.

In 1865, he narrowly escaped death while travelling by steam train. Only five years later, at fifty-eight, worn out by his hectic life-style and before completing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens dies.

This is a graphic novel for ages 8-12. Thus, illustrations are big part of this storytelling, and both are beautiful and touching. Presented with fairly simple sentences, this story can be read by the target audience. Some painful memories that stayed with Dickens are well-dramatized so it touches human emotions. And it’s well-presented how Dickens used his painful experiences and observations as tool in his storytelling which touched multitude of people.

Source: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2011

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: Dickens used his painful experiences and observations as tool in his storytelling which touched multitude of people.

 

 

 

Traits:

·         He grew up during the time of wars and Industrial Revolution. He witnessed the poverty and abuse and sympathized with those less fortunate. Those observations influenced his writing.

·         He used his comic voice with his talent for story telling from early age.

·         When his father no longer could afford to pay for his education, Charles stayed home, reading books.

·         When he got lost in the bustling streets of London which were filled with pickpockets, rogues and other characters, what he observed later appeared in his stories.

·         From early age, he wrote and acted in some of his own plays.

·         In his spare time, with a fellow clerk, they performed at a local theatre.

·         While working as a newspaper reporter, in his spare time, he started to write short stories which began to be published regularly.

·         When he wrote a news series for a magazine, he also immersed himself into creating characters by mimicking them.

·         His fascination for detectives inspired him to invent one of the first fictional police detectives.

·         Throughout his life, he found jobs that kept him close to what he loved to do and meanwhile was writing what was close to his heart.

 

 

 

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” – A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

“Reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 Discover Your Dharma – A Vedic Guide to Finding Your Purpose by Sahara Rose – host of Highest Self Podcast.

The dharma discovery journey talks about five stages: self-awareness, self-improvement, awakening, higher consciousness, stepping into your dharma. As you read those descriptions, you can identify at which stage you are.

It further explains, three paths to following dharma: leap – as it sounds, for example, quitting a job, investing all money, moving to a new country. Transition – for example, you keep your regular job and use your free time for what you love to do, but you have to be committed to do it on regular basis. Accidental discovery – for example you take a class that was required or someone asked you to do it with them, and you fell in love with what was done during that class and it becomes your passion and way of living.

Then, dharma is connected with three phases of dosha: vata – visionary who thinks outside the box; pitta – ambitious, driven individual; kapha – empathetic, generous soul.

Our life should be a cycle through those three phases of dosha, but some of us get stuck in one phase for life.

Thus, understanding ourselves and our actions, which comes down to consciousness/awareness, will make us move naturally through those phases.

This book gives a lot of practical examples, so it’s easy to grasp. Everything is encoded inside us. They key is to discover what it is. One of the ways of finding out is to pay attention what triggers us. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, and you need to ask yourself what was the lesson to be learned. A lot of times, we assume or project things, which is a distortion, opposite of discovering the truth. When you feel being pulled towards something, then you should follow it. Keep exploring. Be curious. Those are directions of your dharma.

Who Was Joan of Arc? by Pam Pollack

 Who Was…? biography series for middle grade encourages with the story of Joan of Arc – a poor peasant girl who after having visions became a warrior who led an army into battle.

Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was born in the village of Domremy, France, where she cared for the family’s cattle and sheep.

In 1420, a treaty was signed that France would be ruled by Charles of England who was part French. But some French people felt betrayed by the French king, Charles VI. After his death, French people fought between themselves who should be the king of France.

During this turmoil time, in 1425, one day when Joan was working in the garden, she heard someone calling her name, but she only saw a bright light.

The third time, she heard the voice, she recognized the archangel Michael. In her time, visions from God didn’t seem so extraordinary.

When she was sixteen, she was told to be destined to help the dauphin become king. She didn’t know how she could do such thing but her faith was very strong and she kept praying.

In 1428, her village of Domremy was raided by the French soldiers who sided with England. She was able to make her way to the commander Robert de Baudricourt, but he didn’t believe her vision. She was so determined that he wrote to the dauphin about her. Charles agreed to the meeting.

Per saints’ request, she was to cut her hair and dress like a boy. She was given directions from saints each step of the way.

A letter was sent to the English commanders telling them to leave France on God’s orders. Her request was ignored.

On April 29, 1429, she arrived outside Orleans with two hundred soldiers. They won the battle but Charles had to be crowned at cathedral in order to be the king of France. Many cities were still occupied by the English. Joan and her army captured one town after another.

On July 16, 1429, they arrived in Reims, and a day later, the dauphin was crowned King Charles VII at the cathedral.

Many cities were still held by the English, including Paris, which Joan wanted to give back to the French people. There were a few attempts to approach the city, but Joan was failing for the first time. She grew impatient as she didn’t like waiting.

Over in England, in November 1429, the young son of Henry V was crowned king of France. Now, France had two kings.

In the spring of 1430, Joan was given permission to capture a French town from the English. She was captured and put on trial. She was nineteen. The Catholic Church tried to prove that she was a witch. And being dressed in men’s clothes was seen as crime. She was found guilty. When she faced a horrible death and was scared, she signed a note promising to stop wearing men’s clothes, to never fight in a war again, and the all voices she heard were lie.

Her head was shaved and she was sent back to the tower. Three days later, the saints told her that she had done a terrible thing by signing the false confession. She took it all back. She was burned at stakes.

In 1453, when the English were driven out of France, Charles VII finally came to her defense and reopened her case.

In 1456, the Church reversed its decision and declared Joan innocent.

In 1920, she was declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

This biography exemplifies a young girl who had incredible strength, was very courageous, and was strongly religious. Her faith led her to achieve what would seem unachievable for a peasant girl who couldn't read and write. The strong connection to the Higher Power is what creates miracles. 

Source: Penguin Workshop, 2016

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: Spend time in nature in order to reconnect with natural instincts. In Joan of Arc’s time, visions from God seemed natural.  

 

 

 

Traits:

·         She was a poor peasant girl who didn’t know how to read and write yet showed incredible strength, courage and faith.

·         Without training or experience, she stood up to enemy soldiers, kings and the powerful Church.

·         Despite Charles VII not coming to her defense when she was captured, she still believed him to be the right king.

·         Despite so many powerful men holding power over her, she parted with the last words to forgive everyone who had hurt her.

·         She proved that even the most disadvantaged can accomplish great things, be part of something very meaningful.

·         Her impatience might have been the reason why she got captured. Patience is something that many of us have to work on.

“I am not afraid… I was born to do this.” – Joan of Arc

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 The story of Joan of Arc and the time that she lived in brought to my mind the ancient wisdom. How much of it reconfirms, for example, having visions as a natural thing, not some kind of phenomenon as it’s seen in modern time. 

Recently, I started reaching more and more for different sources of ancient wisdom. One of them is a podcast with Gregg Braden who has dedicated his life to studying native tribes and the ancient wisdom they hold, and making it accessible by bridging modern science, ancient wisdom, and human potential.

Podcast: @bestofGreggBraden and @GreggBradenOfficial

The God Code by Gregg Braden – A scholar and New York Times –bestselling author shares his shocking theory of an ancient language — found in the decoded elements of our DNA—that shines new light on the mysteries of existence.

What would it mean to discover an ancient language—a literal message—hidden within the DNA of life itself? What we once believed of our past is about to change.
 
A coded message has been found within the molecules of life, deep within the DNA in each cell of our bodies. Through a remarkable discovery linking Biblical alphabets to our genetic code, the “language of life” may now be read as the ancient letters of a timeless message. Regardless of race, religion, heritage, or lifestyle, the message is the same in each cell of every woman, child, and man, past and present.
 
Sharing all-new, fascinating research, Gregg Braden discusses the life-changing discovery that led him from a successful career in the aerospace and defense industries to an extensive 12-year study of the most sacred and honored traditions of humankind.