A Small Miracle by Peter Collington

A Small Miracle by Peter Collington, is hands-down the best, most magical, most amazing book that we've read this Christmas.  It has definitely made it into my top five Christmas books of all time.

A Small Miracle is a modern fairytale about an impoverished, elderly woman who uses her last bit of life to perform an act of kindness by restoring the church Nativity display to order after a vandal leaves it in disarray.   As a result, she is repaid by the recipients of her kindness in a most miraculous way.  When she collapses in the snow, the figures from the Creche come to life and rescue her!  

This tale awakens the imagination of readers of all ages by telling the story without words.  Instead this story is told using 96 miniature pictures--each worth at least a thousand words!





One thing I absolutely loved was how each creche figure stayed true to character:  Joseph (the carpenter) fixed the woman's broken planks in her floor, while Mary kept watch over her, holding her hand.  And I love how the three wise men trade in their gifts to buy the things that the woman needs.  And because this story is set in modern day, we are afforded this awesome picture of the wise men shopping in a grocery store.  Next time, I'm grocery shopping with my kids, I'm going to be looking around for little wise men on a mission!

Because the author has paid so much attention to detail in his artwork, there is so much meaning to be gleaned from the pages of this book.  In doing this, the author illustrates many of the things that Christ himself taught his disciples to do:  Feed to poor, lift up the hands that hang down, comfort those that stand in need of comfort.  I don't know what became of the gifts that the Magi brought to the Christ child, but I'd imagine that they were traded in the service of others in a very similar way.  


I love the joy on the woman's face when she wakens to find all of her items returned, and warm food on the stove.  I also love seeing the many tiny footprints leading away from her little home.

We enjoyed talking about this story with my children during Family Home Evening last night. I told them that although the characters in the book were little people, they could still do a lot of good things, and even though my kids are little, they can still do big things for others.  


The only downside to this book is that I don't own it.  I have it on loan from my local library.  When I went online this morning to make it my own, I found that it costs anywhere from $66 to $115!!  I guess that means it's out of print!  IF I ever come into some money, you can be sure I'll be buying this one!!  What an incredible book!

Sorry, no craft today...I'm busy making these:

and caring for three sick kids...

and getting ready to host tonight's RS cookie exchange!