A Small Miracle by Peter Collington

As this story opens we see an old woman who lives alone in a cold wooden van. Outside the land is covered in deep snow.  She looks in cupboards and boxes for food or coins but all of them are empty so she takes her piano accordion into the town a and sits down in the snow and begins busking on a busy street. 

She sits there all day but makes no money so she is forced to sell the accordion. Walking home she is robbed by a young man. This scene made me gasp.

On her way into the town earlier that day she had passed a church where they were setting up their nativity scene. Walking past again late in the day she sees the thief who took her tin of coins running out the door with the nativity coin collection. She runs at the man and snatches back the coin bucket but inside the church she discovers all of the precious nativity figures are damaged and scattered all over the floor. Carefully, she puts the nativity back together. 

Frail, and hungry and desperate, the old woman collapses in the deep snow on her way home, and lies unconscious. At this point the story shifts and a series of miracles begin. The nativity figures come to life - Mary and her baby along with Joseph and the wise men. Surrounding the old woman, they lift her up, and carry her home, leaving food on the table which they purchase at the supermarket, a fire in the stove, and a very special Christmas gift. Can you guess what it was?

It is thirteen sleeps until Christmas so it is time for me to begin sharing some different, funny, old, new, in print, out of print, and even quirky Christmas books. My book today is old (hardcover 1997 paperback 2011) and out of print but also very very different and poignant and truly special.

A Small Miracle has 96 illustrations. This story will take you on a deeply emotional journey. This is a book to linger over, read slowly, and it is one to cherish every Christmas. I am so happy I have been able to add a copy to my Christmas book collection. 

I picked up A Small Miracle by Peter Collington at a recent charity book sale (you know I have been talking about my treasures from the fair this week) and unbelievably it was only 50 cents! It is in good condition but it does have the name of a child, in tiny print, inside the front and oddly also inside the back cover. I wonder did the volunteers allocate this price because this book has no words!

You can see many of the pages from this book here by Natalia Bragaru on her blog Kids Book Explorer. You could also watch this very beautiful video version with a haunting sound track. 

Take a look at my post about another wordless book (it's an amazing one believe me) by Peter Collington - The Tooth Fairy.