The Littlest Angel

Adults steeped in Christianity commonly regard this children's book with affection and fond remembrance. They might do well to step back from the tale and consider an alternative perspective borne of a careful reading.

The story stars a dead child who goes to heaven where he is bored and miserable. He is sad and lonely, and no one comforts him. His sniffles bother the celestial gatekeeper, who seems not to have encountered a child before. In fact, there are no other children to play with. In this bizarre afterlife, heaven appears as a place of strict order, characterized by schedule and silence. The story even refers to the fact that the little boy angel needs to be “disciplined".

Finding nothing to do in Heaven, the little boy angel show more pleads for something from his old bedroom to play with -- a box located under his old bed, filled with things like dead butterflies and his dog's collar. (Dogs, it appears do not go to heaven, and butterflies are not resurrected).

As it turns out, this is all happening more than 2000 years ago, at the time of the first Xmas. The adult angels -- all Jewish one presumes (since Christianity has not been invented) -- are collecting gifts to give to the Christ child. Everyone has rich gifts to give, since wealth matters in heaven. The sad little angel boy has nothing that compares, and offers his box of things. And lo and behold, the giant hand of the anthropomorphic deity choses the Little Angel's little box over the other gifts, places it in the "sky" (sic) and turns it into the Star of Bethlehem. And so (as one online commentator noted), the only thing that brought the poor child happiness is taken away -- God being the opposite of Santa Claus.

What a depressing tale this is. It's hard to imagine a child finding enjoyment in anticipating such a bizarre and lonely afterlife. The message it offers to such a child is rather different than his or her parents imagine. show less

I first read this book many years ago. I first saw this book performed as a play at another church in my area during childhood. While I like the story, it is not particularly reader-friendly for children. The illustrations in the 1946 edition are a bit dated. I would definitely suggest finding a more up-to-date version, as I know they exist. It would be a good read-aloud book. It's the story of a four and a half-year-old angel who creates quite the stir among the angels. Another angel is sent to earth to fetch a box the boy left under his bed, and the littlest angel is transformed. The Christ child is about to be born in Bethlehem, and all the angels prepare their gifts. What shall the littlest angel give the Christ child?

The littlest angel is only 4 years old when he enters heaven. As such, he doesn't quite acclimate well. He's a bit dirty, a bit mussy, and he can't even fly. Finally he goes to see the Understanding Angel who retrieves a box he left on earth and suddenly the littlest angel is so much happier. Then God starts accepting gifts for the Christ child - whatever will the littlest angel give? Brought tears to my eyes.

The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell and illustrated by Paul Micich is the story of a little angel in heaven who wants to give a special gift to the baby Jesus. He’s a young angel and he can’t seem to do anything right, but somehow his gift is the one that makes all the difference. I love the beautiful illustrations, and the story resonates with the rest of us who long to make a difference.

This is a sweet story worth reading, but I don't think I would use it as a read aloud or even include it in my classroom library because many of the words used are so far beyond most students, even upper elementary students and me! It is a hard book to read out loud because some of the words are so big or even altogether unfamiliar. I would rate this book a 2 for classroom appropriateness.

This was my favorite book when I was six. That was a long time ago, but the story isn't out of date. Lovely story for children about giving and about God's love.

Beautiful and charming. I can see why it's a classic!