Based upon a Christmas story from famed Swedish author and Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf, this lovely picture-book, originally published in Switzerland, follows the nighttime adventures of a strange man who goes searching for something with which to keep his wife and infant child warm. Eventually he happens upon a hardhearted shepherd, who is so impressed by the fact that his dogs can't bite the stranger, his sheep don't flee from him, and his staff won't strike him, that he grants his wish, and allows him to take some coals. Following this man, the shepherd sees the wife and infant child in a cold cave, and having true mercy for this first time, gives a sheepskin to keep the infant warm. It is at this moment, the moment that he shows compassion, that he is able to see the angels all around him, and to comprehend that he is witnessing the miracle of Christmas...

Having enjoyed another of Selma Lagerlöf's Christmas stories, in the form of The Holy Night, and being an admirer of Maja Dusíková's artwork, which I have encountered in such books as The Gift from Saint Nicholas, I was quite excited to track down a copy of What the Shepherd Saw. I was therefore surprised to discover that this was in fact the same story, in somewhat altered form, as that found in The Holy Night. That other book contained a more involved tale, one with a framing device involving a young child whose grandmother has died. In that version, the story of the mysterious man and the shepherd is an inset tale, one told to the child by the grandmother. Here the story of the man and the shepherd is presented by itself, so although both books are clearly based on the same original story, they are different enough that I have not combined them. The story here is moving, highlighting the true meaning of Christmas, and how our ability to perceive that meaning is dependent upon what we have in our hearts - whether we approach it with kindness and compassion, or hardheartedness. I'm amused to see that some reviewers didn't care for it, thinking it some kind of "incorrect" Nativity Story, when of course, it is nothing of the kind. Rather, it is a symbolic miracle story, in which a man to whom the meaning of Christmas is unknown, discovers it, through following his mysterious visitor. Does he actually see the Holy Family, or is it a vision? That is up to the reader to decide, but it is odd to me to reproach a tale of how we approach the Nativity Story, for not being the original "true" Nativity Story.

Leaving that aside, I did find this tale poignant and appealing, and thought the artwork from Dusíková was beautiful. I do think the fuller version to be found in The Holy Night is far more powerful, and I would recommend that one before this, but if What the Shepherd Saw is all that the reader can obtain, I still think it is worth picking up. ( )