Customer Reviews

Small Miracle

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Set in Italy in the 1920's, this simple tale of a child's faith in St. Francis of Assisi takes the reader back to a gentler time of trust in the power of the Church. Orphaned Pepino depends upon his beloved doneky, Violetta, for companionship as well as for income, as they perform odd jobs about the village. His sole legacy from his deceased parents, Violetta functions as both friend and family to the street urchin. Thus when she beocmes incurably ill, his distress is genuine; his desperation knows no bounds.

An American soldier, who had befriended him during the war, advised him never to accept NO as an answer. Suddenly he recalls that motto and employs all manner of smiles and wiles as he pleads for a chance to save her life. He will do anything to obtain permission to bring his donkey directly into the crypt of his beloved St. Francis. He has implicit faith that the Saint who loved all animals will work a miraculous cure.

Ah, but before the Saint gets a chance to bestow (or withhold) his healing grace, Pepino must overcome serious Temporal obstacles, for the lower entrance to the tomb has been sealed for centuries. This open-ended tale leaves readers free to form their own opinion regarding the outcome of his emotional mission (as in THE LADY OR THE TIGER). We can only hope that Divine intervention will triumph--that a boy's faith will be rewarded. A modest story of trust and devotion which will appeal to the child in readers of all ages. A perfect choice for the Easter season.

Gallico's tale of a little Italian orphan and his donkey is a simple little fable but told with such conviction that it touches the heart and mind.A wonderful little story with a message of faith for the reader.

I disliked the book because it wasn't all that interesting;it kept on dragging on about the boy trying to get help for the donkey. He would always be begging the priest to let him go to this town so he could get helpfor his donkey. The book could have had more charactors and talked about them a little more and they could have had more about the boy besides the fact that he was an orphan,they could have written where his parents were and how he became an orphane. They could of told us more about the boy and his past life.