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Summary
Summary
This series meets National Curriculum Standards for: Social Studies: Time, Continuity, & Change
Reviews 3
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. This story, originally performed on the radio in 1939, has had several other incarnations, both as a book and a television show. It is a story some will find corny. A four-year-old angel, new to heaven, keeps getting into trouble because there's nothing for a small angel to do. The Understanding Angel helps the child recover a box he's left at home filled with treasure, including a robin's egg and a limp, tooth-marked leather strap, once worn as a collar by his dog. When Heaven learns that Baby Jesus is about to be born, the angels scurry around planning their gifts; however, the littlest angel has nothing to offer but his box of treasures, which he feels will be utterly useless and blaspheme the Christ Child. God, however, proclaims the gift perfect and turns it into the star of Bethlehem. Micich's realistic artwork, suffused with a heavenly glow, is meticulously rendered. Your view of the art--that is, whether you consider it charming or saccharine--will probably depend on how you feel about the story. Whatever a librarian's personal feelings, however, there will be patrons who find the book right up their holiday alley. ~--Ilene Cooper
Publisher's Weekly Review
The board book edition of The Littlest Angel pares back Charles Tazewell's text for the 1946 original, about a cherub and his present to the Son of God; illustrated with new, cartoonlike watercolors by Rebecca Thornburgh. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3First released in book form in 1946, this story has since appeared in numerous editions. It tells of a small angel who simply can't get with the program no matter how hard he tries until an understanding elder realizes that he is homesick and is able to retrieve a box of his most treasured possessions from "back home." When it comes time for Jesus to be born on Earth, the Littlest Angel gives his precious box to the Baby, but he is worried that God will think his gift too humble. However, God is pleased indeed, and transforms the box into the Star of Bethlehem. The writing style is rather ornate and full of grandiose words and phrases, but some children will love to hear it read aloud. The oil paintings are muted and full of texture, and not at all sentimental. The celestial choir is multicultural, and the Littlest Angel has red shorts peeking out of his robe. Paul Micich's version (Ideals, 1991) has a glossier "greeting-card" look. This reincarnation of the story will be as popular as its predecessors.EM (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.