Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Littlest Angel


I first heard the story of The Littlest Angel in the 1969 Christmas Hallmark TV movie starring Johnny Whitaker ("Jody" from Family Affair) and Fred Gwynne ("Herman Munster" from The Munsters).   As a child I was moved by this story about a little boy who becomes an angel.  In the true spirit of sharing, he wants to give a box of his personal treasures to Baby Jesus.

The Littlest Angel was written by Charles Tazewell.  It started as a radio play in 1939 and was first published in book edition in 1946.  There are a number of picture book editions of this story, both old and new, and I always try to keep several copies on my bookshelves at Birdhouse Books It is a sweet, nostalgic Christmas book for children.   All the copies pictured here are from my store and can be found at my store link.

This 1960 Wonder Books edition has the classic illustrations by Katherine Evans:

This hardcover edition is from 1961, and also was illustrated by Katherine Evans:


This undated vintage edition is a board book with a die-cut window.  It's really charming and unusual!


 This newer edition (1991) was illustrated by Paul Michich:


This is a lovely religious Christmas story for young children.