The Christmas Candle (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jacob Collins (Illustrator) "On a snowy Christmas Eve a young man made his way along a dark, deserted cobblestone street..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Would you be more responsive to a brother's request for money than to a beggar's request for money? This is the question that Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box, asks his readers to consider in The Christmas Candle, a morality tale whose haunting moodiness evokes the Dickensian ghost of Christmas past. In this story, a rather unpleasant-seeming young man named Thomas is making his way home on a dark, bitterly cold Christmas Eve. In search of a candle for his tin lantern, he pushes aside a beggar to enter the shop of a village candlemaker, who has rows and rows of candles sculpted into angels, sprites, princesses. Thomas, impatient, just wants a plain old candle. The Yoda-like candlemaker sells him one, warning cryptically, "It is only four coppers, but you may find it costly." Indeed. This strange candle somehow makes Thomas see his mother's face in the face of the next beggar he encounters, and a figure lying in the gutter reveals itself to him as his brother. He gives them everything he has. Finally, penniless and cold, he reaches the music and laughter of his childhood home. When his family asks him why he has arrived empty-handed, he suddenly understands why the old man told him the candle would be costly, and his heart fills with joy: "For that Christmas Eve, a lesson was learned and taken to heart: If we will see things as they truly are, we will find that all, from great to small, belong to one family." The Christmas Candle--heavily laden with American Realist Jacob Collins's gloomy still-life paintings and bleak, eerily lit oil portraits of dour-faced beggars--is not exactly a joyous expression of holiday cheer. It is, however, a time-tested tale of charity that will resonate with young and old alike. (Ages 6 and older)

Product Description

On a snowy Christmas Eve, a young man named Thomas on his way home for a family celebration realizes that the candle in his lantern is about to expire. He stops in a chandler's shop filled with fantastic wax creations, but instead of admiring them Thomas scorns the chandler for wasting his time on sculptures that will only melt. The mysterious old chandler sells him a special Christmas candle. Back on the bitterly cold street, the young man is accosted by an old beggar woman. When he lifts his lantern to get a better look, the candlelight reveals that she is his mother. He gives her his cloak and only then sees the truth: She is not his mother after all, but a stranger. The candle tricks him again before he reaches home, cold and penniless, but richer for his newfound realization that we are all part of one family.

This intriguing original fable about charity is accompanied by lavish, mood-filled oil paintings by artist Jacob Collins. Together, author and artist have created an exquisite holiday gift book that will be treasured by the entire family.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689823193
• ISBN-13: 978-0689823190
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,754 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Christmas Candle, December 31, 1999

By A Customer

If you are a person who reads books to school children, this is a perfect book to read. It is the best holiday book with true meaning I have read, that teaches children to look in their environment to find ways to be helpful, and the true meaning of the holidays, that we are all one large family of mankind. You will not be disappointed in purchasing this book. Beautiful illustrations and a moving story.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a perfect christmas story about charity., November 23, 1998

By A Customer

I really enjoyed reading this book. What a powerful message it gives to its readers. What a difference this world would be if we could all be more giving and compassionate to everyone we come in contact with. I would reccommend this book to anyone that has a heart.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Look at the pictures, June 26, 2003

By	Deborah S. Hall (Rochester, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This childrens' story book is illustrated with reproductions of Jacob Collins paintings. This book is a treasure because of these illustrations! Collins is one of foremost living realist painters. With respect to technique, he is getting up there with the likes of Odd Nerdrum and his paintings sell in the five figures last time I looked -- probably much higher now. The two portaits of women in this book are incredibly valuable for anyone who aspires to paint in the realist tradition -- or anyone who loves painting. Because it's a "story" book, this little volume costs a lot less than an art monograph, and what a treasure. Wish the images were larger, butmay-be one day we'll get a book on Collins.