"Pulitzer Prize–winner McCourt offers a sweetly sentimental, longer Christmas story about his mother, Angela, who is anticipating the holiday with her family in the Ireland of a past generation. The six-year-old girl feels sorry for the life-sized baby Jesus figure in the crèche at her church because to her he looks cold without a blanket to cover him. Angela takes the Jesus figure home with her, putting him in her own bed to warm him up. Young readers will have to accept Angela’s notion that the baby is somewhat real, while adults will recognize the religious symbolism and the antecedents of the responsive Christ Child figure in other stories. McCourt’s strong narrative voice and Irish cadences and expressions add flavor to his well-written story, complemented by humorous dialogue displaying a dry wit. Colón’s lovely watercolor and pencil illustrations in muted tones use subtle lighting and a grainy texture that suggest old photographs, and his sensitive interpretation brings Angela and her family to life. The same story is also available in an edition targeted at adults, with more sophisticated illustrations by Loren Long. " www.kirkusreviews.com

When Angela sees the Christ Child lying in his crib at St. Joseph's Church, near her home in Limerick, Ireland, the young girl believes that he must be terribly cold. Determined to spare the child a form of suffering which which she is all too familiar, she steals him, taking him home in order to keep him safe and warm. Her brother Pat discovers her secret, and eventually gives her away to the family, who insist that the statue must be returned to the church. But what will the parish priest and the local policeman do, when they are discovered trying to return him...?

Originally published in 2007 as Angela and the Baby Jesus, this lovely holiday picture-book from Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the memoir, Angela's Ashes, was reprinted this year (2019) as Angela's Christmas. I greatly enjoyed McCourt's memoir, many years ago when it was first published, but I never read the sequels, nor was I aware until recently that he had written a children's story, based upon one of his mother's childhood experiences. I'm glad that I have discovered this, as I found the story equal parts humorous and heartwarming, and appreciated both the moving conclusion, and the beautiful artwork by Raúl Colón. Recommended to anyone looking for deeply felt Christmas stories for children, that are both entertaining and poignant. ( )

1. loved the art. am a little tired of frank mccourt but this was ok.
2. same story, different art. ( )

This title, about a little girl named Angela who steals the baby Jesus from the nativity scene at her church, ended up being a lot funnier than I anticipated. She takes him because she thinks he's cold, then she absconds with him to her home. One of the funniest parts is when she throws him over the high fence to her backyard and accidentally throws him in her neighbor's yard. Poor baby Jesus! Lolz. Eventually the baby Jesus is returned to his right ful place, but not until Angela is ratted out by her not-quite-right brother. (One of the plot elements is some sort of hinting that the brother is mentally challenged or something - I'm not sure because I've not read any of Frank McCourt's other books about his family. But it's sort of a weird element to include without any follow through.)

The illustrations are done in an interesting style that creates a lot of texture. It looks like paint was laid down and then scraped off with some sort of comb or brush. Very visually engaging. Everything looks very soft and scenes are filled with warm light.

The text is definitely too long for a storytime - maybe for an older kids' read aloud? But they'd still have to be pretty patient and non-squirmy! ( )

A lovely Christmas story with illustrations. ( )