The Littlest Angel: A Blue Marlin Publication Review

By Charles Tazewell
Illustrated by Paul Micich

Hardcover
List Price: $16.95
ISBN 0-8249-8516-8
Ages 3-8 (and adults will truly love it too)

This version celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Tazewell's classic, originally published in 1946 and introduced on radio by Helen Hayes. Even though the story has sold over five million copies, it doesn't get enough attention anymore.

This is a perfect December story because it's about a four-year-old boy-angel who just can't seem to make himself at home in celestial paradise. He misses his family, his trees to climb, "the brooks to fish, caves to play at pirate chief, the swimming hole, the sun, rain, dark, dawn, and thick brown dust, so soft and warm beneath your feet." But most of all, he misses his box of treasures that he left under his bed at home. Once he receives the glorious box as a gift from the great, "Understanding Angel," the Littlest Angel is faced with the challenge of presenting that very box as a gift for Baby Jesus. The miracle that occurs at the end of the story reminds us of what Christmas is all about.

Mr. Micich's illustrations are simple and wonderful, and his renditions of people and faces are superb. He used his own son as a model for the Littlest Angel, so at times, you feel like you're looking at a photograph rather than an illustration.

This book will make an impressive gift for the little ones in your life!