Lovingly illustrated by Tomie dePaola, this tale brought me to tears. The story of Giovanni the clown who brings joy to all the people of Italy, until he becomes old and they turn on him. So he goes home and falls asleep in the church. His last act in life is to try to bring joy to the Holy Child on Christmas day. It's really beautiful. This could be a great morality tale to share with children. The message that sometimes just putting a smile on someone's face is a good deed.

I first encountered The Clown of God in college, during a course on spirituality and developmental psychology. It tells the story of a poor beggar boy who finds joy and fame in his juggling -- and surprising blessings as well.

dePaola does an excellent job adapting this "old story" to medieval Italy; the setting fits the story like a glove. The delightful illustrations bring the story to life. My children love pouring over the rich images.

A great story for kids and adults alike, The Clown of God gets my highest recommendation. ( )

The story is about a little boy named Giovanni who was a poor beggar. He had a gift of juggling and entertained many people throughout the years. As he grew older, Giovanni became less and less popular. He loved juggling but people did not stop to watch him anymore. Putting aside juggling forever, he went on a long journey and eventually fell asleep in a church. He woke up to a processional honoring the statue of the child and his mother, Jesus and Mary. After everyone left Giovanni went before the statue and offered all that he had, his gift of juggling. He died while juggling and the statue of the child remains looking at the juggler and holding the golden ball, called the "Sun of the Heavens"

This book has many angles you could teach from. I think the biggest lesson is that we are born with nothing and die with nothing. The clown became famous but in the end of his life he was just as he was when he was young. He was poor and had to beg for food. I loved the book it was very touching but I think it would be hard to teach a lesson with. ( )

A beautifully illustrated story about the gift of one's self. ( )