On Angel Wings
By Michael Morpurgo (illustrated by Quentin Blake)

This is the story of the miracle of the first Christmas Eve as told by the grandson of a shepherd who had witnessed the event as young boy. Gabriel astounds the shepherds with his story of great news. When he leaves, the shepherds ready themselves to follow the star and decide the young boy should stay behind with the sheep. Feeling that life is unfair, he is surprised to find that Gabriel has returned. Gabriel leaves a host of angels to care for the sheep, has the young shepherd place his arms around the angel’s neck, and transports him to the manger ahead of everyone, allowing the young shepherd to be the first of many visitors.

Hurry! Hurry! Have You Heard?
By Laura Krauss Melmed (illustrated by Jane Dyer)

Here’s another retelling of the manger story. The sweet baby, born on a cold winter’s night, smiles at a little chickadee. Quickly, the bird is off to share the news. Animals are soon on their way to welcome the little boy, but they’re such a noisy bunch that the baby begins to cry. His mother picks him up to sing him a lullaby, and the baby—along with all his new animal friends—is off to sleep.

Wabi Sabi
By Mark Reibstein (illustrated by Ed Young)

Wabi Sabi is the name of a cat living in Kyoto, Japan, who goes on a journey to find out what her name really means. Over and over she is told, “It is hard to explain.” Each answer comes in the form of a haiku poem. Eventually, the humble cat comes to understand: “It’s a kind of beauty, simple as a brown leaf, a warm bowl of tea, the pale moon resting on foggy water.”

No, this is not a Christmas story, but it is uniquely and beautifully illustrated with Japanese figures, along with the history of wabi sabi, haiku, and haibun.