ANGEL DOLL
Set in a North Carolina manufacturing town during the 1950s, it is the poignant story of two ten-year-old boys and their search for an angel doll, a search that turned into a lesson of love. Every day Whitey Black reads The Littlest Angel to his sister Sandy, a four-year-old stricken with polio. Now she wants just one thing for Christmas: an angel doll. Unfortunately, in this small North Carolina town, no one has ever heard of such a thing. Nevertheless, Whitey Black and his best friend set out to find her one, at great cost and for even greater reward.
★★★☆☆
The Angel Doll, short story / novella length and set primarily in the 1950s, is the story of Jimmy "Whitey" Black, a ten year old boy whose four year old sister Sandy is battling polio. Every day, Sandy's favorite part of the day, Jimmy sits down to read the book The Littlest Angel to his sister.
The Littlest Angel (1949), read by Loretta Young
Knowing his sister loves anything to do with angels, Jimmy gets the idea to give his sister her own angel doll for Christmas. He searches high and low all over town, struggling to find something that fits what he has in mind. Just when he's about to give up hope, he spots a doll in a store window that just might work. He enlists the help of the mother of one of his friends to help him craft wings and a halo for this doll. Sadly, Sandy passes away before Jimmy can give her the gift. Many years later, the doll makes a reappearance in the life of Jimmy's childhood best friend (who narrates the story).
There's no huge "miracle" within the story, per say, but it's still a sweet holiday tale (inspired by true events within the author's life) that encourages doing kindnesses for others simply for the act of charity itself, the benefits it can offer the giver as well as the receiver. There's an enjoyable tie-back to many of the characters at the very end, as we see how one pivotal holiday season in a child's life changed so many others right into their adulthoods.
The Angel Doll was given a screen adaptation in 2002, starring Keith Carradine.
You can watch a video here that includes portions of an interview with author Jerry Bledsoe speaking on the backstory of this novel.
![A Gift of Angels: Sequel to The Angel Doll, a Christmas Story by [Bledsoe, Jerry]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516qs4TmPjL.jpg)
Fifty years have passed since ten-year-old Whitey Black spent his savings on an angel doll for his dying little sister and now the narrator, in possession of the doll, seeks to find his long-lost friend and return the doll to its rightful place.
★★★☆☆
Jerry Bledsoe originally published The Angel Doll in 1996. Shortly after its release, Bledsoe was inundated with questions from readers as to what happened with Jimmy (aka "Whitey") at the end. Feeling the need to provide answers, Bledsoe rolled out a sequel in 1999, focusing on Jimmy's story.
So once again, the story here is narrated by Whitey's friend from all those years ago. I can't recall if the narrator is given a name specifically, but he's basically the alter ego of author Jerry Bledsoe, as indicated by one of the book's illustrations of our narrator, clearly taking inspiration from the author's bio blurb photo.
Our narrator, a now well-established journalist, has recently lost his best friend and mentor, William "Mutt" Burton. Mutt is described as a talented writer and actor who never lost his sense of childlike wonder over things like fireworks, the circus, mail order catalogs, and of course, the Christmas season.
The loss of Mutt gets our narrator thinking about how precious good friendship is, and how sad it is when some fall to the wayside over the years. His thinking takes him to the idea of trying to track down Whitey and seeing what he's up to. After an exhaustive amount of inquires, his efforts don't turn up the results he expected or hoped for, but he does get the chance to meet Whitey's grown daughter, Sandy (yes, named for the sister who passed in The Angel Doll). Sandy shares a moving story of her father's bravery in the Vietnam War.
It's a quick read, and not quite the sequel I was hoping for... missing a little oomph for me... but I did quite like the portion with Whitey's war letters to his wife. The few illustrations, done by Tim Rickard, were a nice enhancement, and the story does close on a nice scene. Good, easy, heartwarming stuff for a quiet holiday morning.
So once again, the story here is narrated by Whitey's friend from all those years ago. I can't recall if the narrator is given a name specifically, but he's basically the alter ego of author Jerry Bledsoe, as indicated by one of the book's illustrations of our narrator, clearly taking inspiration from the author's bio blurb photo.
Our narrator, a now well-established journalist, has recently lost his best friend and mentor, William "Mutt" Burton. Mutt is described as a talented writer and actor who never lost his sense of childlike wonder over things like fireworks, the circus, mail order catalogs, and of course, the Christmas season.
The loss of Mutt gets our narrator thinking about how precious good friendship is, and how sad it is when some fall to the wayside over the years. His thinking takes him to the idea of trying to track down Whitey and seeing what he's up to. After an exhaustive amount of inquires, his efforts don't turn up the results he expected or hoped for, but he does get the chance to meet Whitey's grown daughter, Sandy (yes, named for the sister who passed in The Angel Doll). Sandy shares a moving story of her father's bravery in the Vietnam War.
It's a quick read, and not quite the sequel I was hoping for... missing a little oomph for me... but I did quite like the portion with Whitey's war letters to his wife. The few illustrations, done by Tim Rickard, were a nice enhancement, and the story does close on a nice scene. Good, easy, heartwarming stuff for a quiet holiday morning.
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