The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Quattlebaum, Mary

The Shine Man: A Christmas Story

32 pp. | Eerdmans | September, 2001 | Trade ISBN 0-8028-5181-9 $$17.00

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Ladwig. Desperate for customers one cold December during the Depression, a homeless shoeshine man nonetheless takes pity on a tattered young boy, by first giving him his hat, then his gloves, and finally a homemade toy and a free shine. The story takes a religious turn at the end, when the boy is revealed to be a manifestation of the Christ child. The watercolor and acrylic illustrations, which play with perspective, emphasize the sentimental tone of the tale.

Reviewer: Anne St. John