Based on a work by Leo Tolstoy (and echoing The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey), Johnson's (The Rebel) warm if predictable story might have inspired an episode of Touched by an Angel. Gunther, a lonely widower cobbler, is toiling away on Christmas Eve when in comes a mysterious woman and two children who present him with gifts—a candle to light the way for the Christ Child and a promise that He will visit. As he waits, the cobbler does kindnesses for needy folk, and, yes, those first mysterious strangers—angels in disguise—eventually reappear to tell Gunther that he has already greeted Christ in his fellow brethren. Elliott's (The Princess Tales) theatrical-looking paintings seem a bit modern for the old-world setting, but match the text in their magnification of each emotion experienced and each lesson learned. All ages. (Sept.)
