life of jesus Archives | Little Book, Big Story

I imagine reviewers for large publications opening white-covered galley copies of newly released books, their minds empty of expectation. I imagine—wrongly, I hope—that they read with a sort of professionalism, exploring major themes and images with an air of detachment, and I laugh. Because I enjoy being a highly-biased reviewer: I get to dive whole-heartedly into a book by a beloved author, announcing to myself as I do so, “I want to love this book.”

If I know nothing about the author, then it’s usually the illustrations that provoke this longing in me: a beautifully illustrated book makes me desperately want the story to do them justice.

Such was the case with Miracle Man.

Miracle Man, by John Hendrix | Little Book, Big Story

I wanted so badly to love John Hendrix’s book—the cover alone was persuasive—and oh, dear reader, I do. I love it. I love Miracle Man so much that I bumped it up eight spots on my publishing schedule just so I could share it with you immediately.

Miracle Man follows the life of Jesus through his miracles, showing an interpretation of who he was as an incarnated man that fits well with Scripture but creatively reveals aspects of how his nature as the Son of God may have overflowed the bounds of humanity. Hendrix renders Jesus’ words as part of the illustrations, not part of the text, so everything Jesus says arrests your eyes and causes you dwell on every letter of every word. He made the deliberate choice to portray Jesus himself and infuses the illustrations with details that (I’m not ashamed to admit it) made me cry because they are so awe-inspiring.

My favorite example:

Jesus’ footsteps are filled with live, growing things, as though the sole of his foot is so infused with life that its imprint causes the earth to burst into flower out of season.

Yes, I wanted to love this book. I wanted to so badly that I would have overlooked some slightly lackluster prose for the sake of those stunning illustrations, but I didn’t have to. There was nothing lackluster to overlook.

And now, I want desperately to love every other book Hendrix has written.

Miracle Man
John Hendrix (2016)

At first, The Light of the World reads like a Christmas story. There are angels and shepherds, wise men and livestock, because every book about Jesus’s life on earth must begin with the Incarnation. But after that, Jesus emerges as more than an important baby: he is the Light of the world, a light that softens the eyes of the hopeful and glitters in the bitter eyes of the skeptics.

Katherine Paterson’s narrative incorporates Jesus’s own words from Scripture and tells of his life through parables, deeds and merciful healings. You might recognize Paterson’s name, as she’s the Newbery-winning author of Bridge to Terebinthia and Jacob Have I Loved. She uses her gifts well here, and rises to the challenge of faithfully rendering a complex story in the direct, clean sentences that children love.

The Light of the World | Little Book, Big Story

Jesus himself is depicted only sparingly throughout the illustrations, a choice that feels both deliberate and fitting, but through words and symbols Paterson and illustrator Francois Roca make his presence clear. The way the children run toward him, the shadow he casts over a crippled man’s upturned face, all make Jesus the focal point of the story, even when he stands just off stage.

In her dust jacket bio, Paterson writes, “The challenge for those of us who care about our faith and about a hurting world is to tell stories which will carry the words of grace and hope in their bones and sinews and not wear them like fancy dress.” In The Light of the World, Katherine Paterson does just that.

The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children
Katherine Paterson, Francois Roca (2008)

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Miracle Man

The Light of the World

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