The Miracle of Saint Nicholas (Golden Key Books) (Hardcover)

by Gloria Whelan (Author), Judith Brown (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"On Christmas Eve young Alexi sweeps out the village church, which has been empty since soldiers closed it sixty years ago--and the church's treasures miraculously reappear by Christmas morning. This touching story about the endurance of faith in a Russian village is illustrated with icon-like egg tempera paintings that contrast past violence with current joy."

Product Description
When Alexi learns from his babuskha that a Russian village church has been closed for sixty years, the resourceful young boy decides to prepare it for a Christmas miracle.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Bethlehem Books (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883937183
• ISBN-13: 978-1883937188
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #260,850 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, September 29, 2004

By	C. Petri (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

We just purchased this book to give to our son on St. Nicholas day. It is a beautiful book, the pictures were originally painted using egg tempra (the paint which is traditionally used for iconic art). It gives a glimpse of Russian history, as a Babushka tells her grandson (Alexi) how soldiers closed the churches in Russia and Christians hid their religion. St. Nicholas, the name of the church in town, had been closed and empty for many years. Alexi takes it upon himself to clean up the church, chasing out the mice and sweeping away the cobwebs in the hopes of celebrating Christmas there this year. However, the church is missing the altar cloth, candles, cross, icon of St. Nicholas, and a priest. On Christmas day one by one, villagers who unbeknownst to the rest of the village had hid various items from the church during the persecutions brought them back to the church. The biggest surprise is when Alexi's friend, the town's old cobbler, enters the church in his priestly robes and reveals that he was the town priest, in hiding all these years. "The miracle of saint nicholas" is not about a miracle in the strictest sense of the word, but it is a wonderful story of the faith of a little boy.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a beautiful, touching book--a near perfect Christmas gift, December 13, 2005

By	Nicholas Dujmovic (Vienna, Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As other reviewers have recounted, it is difficult to read this book without shedding tears. It's a marvelous story of a Russian village's return to church. The story is sweet without being cloying, the historical context is spot on (yes, Communists destroy churches, kill priests, and imprison believers), and the iconographic illustrations are nearly divine.

But--the author betrays on one page an unfortunate ignorance about Orthodox Christian worship, especially in traditional Orthodox cultures such as Russia. She has the people waiting patiently in the church for something to happen, and they are SITTING, and then the priest appears, walking down the AISLE.

There are no pews in an Orthodox church hewing to the traditional mode of worship, as would no doubt be the case in Russia.

Still, the book is wonderful and worth getting and giving for Christmas.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Christmas book I've read, January 8, 2005

By	Kira Kellerman "Kirochka" (Bloomington, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a Russian Orthodox Christian and also first-generation born American, it was very touching to me. I loved it. It made me cry. A story of sadness that turns into great joy. Beautiful artwork!!!