A MIRACLE INSPIRED BY THE HOPE OF A LITTLE BOY

THE MIRACLE OF ST. NICHOLAS by Gloria Whelan, illustrations by Judith Brown (ages 5 -8).  The first thing that drew me to this book was the pictures, which are painted in egg tempera - a technique traditionally used in the painting (or "writing") of icons - perfect for this uplifting story set in a 20th century Russian village.

The day before Christmas, a Russian Babushka is telling her grandson, Alexi, what Christmas was like in their village when she was a little girl.  With Alexi, we learn a bit of Russian history, as Babushka sadly relates how Communist soldiers closed down the churches in Russia and Christians had to hide their religion.  When Alexi asks why they can't celebrate Christmas there this year, Babushka tells him it would take a miracle.  St. Nicholas, the name of the church in their town, along with all the other places of worship, has been locked and empty for 60 years.

When Alexi goes to the church and finds it unlocked, he decides to clean up the cobwebs and get it ready for worship on Christmas Day. But the altar cloth, candles, cross, the five hundred year old icon of St. Nicholas, and a priest are missing.  The village needs a Christmas miracle!

Christmas day arrives and one by one, the villagers (who, unbeknownst to each other, had hidden various items of the church during the persecutions) begin to bring them back to the church. The biggest surprise is at the end, when the old town "shoemaker" shows up in priestly robes and is revealed to be the town's priest, after years of the villagers keeping his secret.

Because of a first step of faith by a little boy, the Church of St. Nicholas experiences a miracle - showing that governments and time cannot completely suppress faith and hope.

FAIRY TALES, HORSES...AND SAINTS! FROM THE HAND OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE ILLUSTRATORS: RUTH SANDERSON

Ruth Sanderson says, "I loved two things the most when I was growing up - fairy tales and horses. And for the past 30-odd years I have been drawing and painting them both for the many books I have illustrated."

My daughter and I first discovered Ruth Sanderson when we found her picture book adaptation of a favorite fairy tale, TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES. It is lavishly illustrated with page after page of some of the most beautiful and dreamlike oil paintings I've ever seen. Sanderson calls her art "romantic but realistic". She also did the illustrations for another of my daughter's favorites - a wonderful edition of HEIDI, by Johanna Spyri.

If you have a child that loves horses, you should check out Ruth Sanderson's blog: http://www.horsediaries.blogspot.com/ where she talks about creating the artwork for her chapter book series, HORSE DIARIES. (ages 9-12)

She has also beautifully illustrated some wonderful Biblical and saints' stories, including our favorites (several of which have a flavor of Byzantine iconography): SAINTS: LIVES AND ILLUMINATIONS (first millennium saints, includes martyrs and desert fathers);
TAPESTRIES, STORIES OF WOMEN IN THE BIBLE; and
THE NATIVITY: FROM THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE

Some of her more recent adaptations (for preschool and up), which I can hardly wait to see myself, are MOTHER GOOSE AND FRIENDS and GOLDILOCKS.

For a complete list of her many books and beautiful artwork, go to: http://www.ruthsanderson.com/

A STYLISTIC RENDERING OF BIBLE STORIES

An up-and-coming children's book illustrator to take note of, for anyone interested in beautiful pictorial Bible storybooks, is Niko Chocheli. My previous blogpost focused on Bible Books by Brian Wildsmith. Like Wildsmith, Chocheli makes use of a rich palette of vibrant color. His lavish, but ethereal illustrations are even more precisely detailed and of a more classical style than Wildsmith's, resulting in renderings not only reminiscent of the Old Masters, but with a dramatic contrast of light and darkness - an obvious influence of the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine iconography from his native country, the Republic of Georgia.

Niko's illustrated books for children include:
PREPARE, O BETHLEMEM
A PERFECT CHRISTMAS
THE BOOK OF JONAH
THE PRAISES: PSALMS 148
CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
(Published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

To find out more about this artist, go to http://www.nikochocheli.com/.