THE SEED OF FAITH

Petronelli offers an illustrated children’s book about a Christmas miracle.

After helping with decorating her home in the foothill village of Shiloh on Christmas Eve, 10-year-old Stephanie joins her father on the porch to drink hot chocolate and eat the last morsels of blueberry pie. She asks her father why a mountain near their home is called Faith Hill. He tells the story of how the name came to be 40 years ago, after a severe drought left no Christmas trees in Shiloh. However, on the other side of the mountain, Reidsville had plenty of water and plenty of Christmas trees. A law prevented any sharing of Reidsville’s resources, so from opposite directions, two groups of boys independently set out on a dangerous hike to get a tree for Shiloh. A nor’easter suddenly engulfed both groups of boys, and they had to stop and keep warm to survive. Then a man named Joshua miraculously appeared and brought both sets of boys to his nearby cabin and shared that the “true meaning of Christmas was giving and helping others.” He produces a red-and-green-painted box whose contents lead to a miracle. Over the course of this children’s book, Petronelli weaves a Christian-themed holiday tale that offers no hint of the ending, which is indeed a surprise, and will have young readers rooting for the boys as they try to save Christmas for Shiloh. Joshua comes across as a delightful Santa Claus-like character. Pritchett’s full-color, painterly illustrations are soft and muted with a pleasant glow that adds to the book’s overall charm. The illustrations portray mostly White characters, with a few people of color.

A warm and inspirational holiday tale.