In the Candle’s Glow, the new book by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson, is a delight from beginning to end. Just look at the end papers! So many picture books (even my own) have either blank end papers, or end papers in a neutral, could-be-any-book pattern. But the end papers for In the Candle’s Glow are honeycomb and bees, images drawn from the illustrations in the story.
And the illustrations by Amandine Wanert are delightful. Infused with the colors of honey and candlelight, they glow with cheerfulness and faith and joy. They couldn’t be more perfect for this story.
In the story, the words are selected and assembled like gems. The nun who collects the honey and wax from the hives could have had any name, but she’s Sister Irene; the little girl who lights the candles is name Felicia. Peace and Happiness. And Johnson lavishes the same care on every other word that she does on the names of her characters.
The characters are part of a single story, but they don’t meet each other. Do you remember the “field trip” episodes from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, like the one where children got to see how people make crayons, or how they make fortune cookies? This book is that kind of story. There isn’t a conventional story arc, with conflict, rising action, climax, denouement. Rather, In the Candle’s Glow shows how prayer candles are made and used.
A Breath of Wind
In the Candle’s Glow starts with a breath of wind, and with bees. Bees gathering nectar and making wax.
Then Sister Irene harvests wax and honey from the hives, singing hymns and blessing the bees as she works. A beekeeper would notice instantly what I didn’t see until my fourth or fifth time reading the book: Sister Irene doesn’t wear beekeeping gear. Just a white apron over her black habit.
Perhaps her hymns and prayers are enough to calm the bees. Perhaps she has a special relationship with the bees, as St. Seraphim and St. Koprios had with bears. Perhaps peace just flows from her to the bees. Or perhaps she had beekeeping gear on while she had the hives open, and the illustration just doesn’t show that part.
Going in from the hives, Sister Irene makes dipped candles. The process is covered in just a few brief sentences. If your children want to know more, they can watch Mister Rogers explain how candles are made.
From the monastery, Sister Irene’s candles find their way to a church. As does a little girl, Felicia. Felicia takes a candle, lights it, and sees her prayers in the candle flame.
And a breath of wind catches the smoke form the candles and lifts it up, with the prayers, to the icon of the Panotcrator in the ceiling of the church.
Starting and ending In the Candle’s Glow with a breath of wind was a brilliant choice. It gently frames the steps in the candle-making process, providing a sense of structure and creating a narrative whole. And it suggests the work of the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, in the bees and in the prayers.
Read More
17 essential picture books for Orthodox Christian kids: If you’re looking for picture books that include stories about Orthodox Christian people and traditions, you’ll find them on this list.
Groundhog’s Day and the Presentation of our Lord: Traditionally, candles are blessed on the Presentation of our Lord, giving the feast its other name, Candlemas.
The Man and the Vine and The Woman and the Wheat: This gorgeous pair of books explains to children where the bread and wine for the Eucharist come from. They also serve as a mediation on the Eucharist for adults.
Buy the Books!
These delightfully diverse books will give Orthodox Christian children the chance to see themselves in books. And they’ll give other children the chance to see books that feature cultural practices they may not be familiar with.
Catherine’s Pascha
FINALIST IN THE 2015 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS
Catherine doesn’t like vegetables. She doesn’t like naps. She doesn’t like it when her mom combs her hair. She loves hot dogs, chocolate cake, and her best friend, Elizabeth. Most of all, she loves Pascha! Pascha, the Orthodox Christian Easter, is celebrated in the middle of the night, with processions and candles and bells and singing. And Catherine insists that she’s not a bit sleepy.
Celebrate the joy of Pascha through the magic of a book: Catherine’s Pascha. Available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and my webstore.
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow
Shoes or stockings? Horse or sleigh? Does St. Nicholas visit on December 6 or on Christmas Eve? Will a little girl’s prayer be answered? When Elizabeth has to stay at Catherine’s house, she’s worried about her grandmother, and worried that St. Nicholas won’t find her. The grownups, though, are worried about snow.
Celebrate the wonder of St. Nicholas Day through the magic of a book: The Saint Nicholas Day Snow. Available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or my webstore.