Probity Jones and Fear Not Ang

Walter Wangerin, Jr.. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, $16.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8066-2992-6

Ill with a fever and forced to stay home and miss her Christmas pageant performance, young Probity witnesses a Christmas miracle of her very own. Folded within the silken robes of the Fear Not Angel, Probity soon hovers high above her Christmas pageant and is also magically transported to the wondrous first Christmas. Wangerin expertly crafts this lengthy story, quickly establishing characterizations and balancing the fairy-tale elements here with a lifelike portrait of an African American family. Ladwig's soft grainy paintings depict Probity's home and her flight with equal realism, and the face of his angel fairly melts with kindness. Ages 6-9. (Sept.)

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