This book was slightly better than The Adventures of Abdi, but I still found it rather unappealing. The fairy tale inspired story is a wonderful start (it channels a certain Hans Christian Andersen vibe with its focus on prayer and a child protagonist who must be saved by its caring parents), but I found the choice of illustrative style to not match well with the story. By naming the protagonist Yakov, they immediately place the story in Eastern Europe, a setting which is further compounded by the small town setting, the superstitious townsfolk, and the kindly village magician (an old man who does magic, but who the townsfolk seem to accept without negative judgement). Yet, the illustrations seem to be influenced by the fashions of France and Germany, as we see many a curled ponytail and high-heeled shoes on the male characters. I would have expected a more Russian style of illustration at least, if not an even more specific style to depict potentially Jewish characters. ( )

I was skeptical when I saw the author listed as "Madonna!" Then, I opened the book to find lush, lovely images that enticed me to purchase it.

I need not have worried; the story is lovely and Gennady Spirin is one of my favorite illustrators/artist.

A cobbler by the name of Yakov has one child, a son who is gravely ill. Despite all attempts to cure him, Yakov and his wife, Olga, grow increasingly frightened when their son is slipping away. Hearing of a man of healing who lives in the last house of their village, Yakov goes to seek his guidance.

Attempting to give all his money to the learned elder man, his coins were refused, stating that if he is successful in helping, perhaps the cobbler would make a pair of shoes for his grandson.

The next day, he visited the wise sage only to be told that when he prayed, the gates of heaven would not open. Thus, Yakov was told that his son's death is inevitable. In distress, Yakov begged the wise man to try yet one more time.

The elderly man told his grandson to go into the village and find all the thieves, pick pockets and criminals and bring them back to the house. Among the lot was Vladimir the Villain who could bend metal and punch holes through stones, and Boris the Barefoot Midget is successful at grabbing the purses of old ladies and the toys of little ones. Among the lot were Ivan the Arsonist, Petra the Pickpocket Stinky Pasha and a large host of near do wells.

When the old man asked the beggars to pray, they all got on their knees and followed his directions to pray. Amazingly, a miracle occurred. The prayers of the man who previously robbed by opening gates, helped to open the gates to heaven so that the child could be healed.

The next day, Yakov came with a new pair of shoes for the elder's grandson. His son was alive and well. It was the prayers of the gang of crooks that made a difference. ( )

This book is about a sick boy. His parents want to do anything they can to save his life and they go to this man with wisdom and magic powers. He tried to pray, but it didn't work.The man tells his grandson to go and get the best thieves around. They come and together they pray to unlock the gates of heaven. The prayers worked and the sick boy heals. The book has beautiful illustrations made with acrylic paint and ink. It's a folklore story. Great for children between 4-11. ( )

This is a good book to teach theme and reasoning.

I went into this somewhat skeptical, no matter how I would have wished otherwise. After all, Madonna's not exactly known as a paragon of virtue or a good role model for children. However, I thought this book was an entertaining story. It was fairly long, and the themes in it were addressed to a somewhat older crowd than my 3.5 year old--maybe in the 7-8 sort of range. I especially loved the reasoning behind the old man choosing the thieves to pray with him; I had been wondering exactly why the thieves were asked there and what their purpose was. The very base theme--that miracles do happen--was a good theme to include; you don't see that too often in children's stories anymore.

All in all, I thought it was a pretty good book. ( )