The Beggar and Bluebird

Anthony DeStefano is the bestselling author of thirty Christian books for adults and children, with works published in eighteen countries and twelve languages. His books have earned endorsements from notable figures such as Tony Robbins, Quincy Jones, Kathie Lee Gifford, Eric Metaxas, and the late President Jimmy Carter. A frequent guest on national media platforms, DeStefano has also hosted two television series on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).DeStefano is a native New Yorker who attended Stuyvesant High School, where his English teacher, Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes), inspired his passion for writing. His first children's picture book, Little Star, began as a classroom assignment for McCourt and decades later became a bestseller.

The Beggar and the Bluebird is a modern-day fairytale in the tradition of Hans Christian Anderson and the Grimm Brothers. It tells the moving story of a little bird whose flight southward for the winter keeps getting delayed because of the strange requests of a local street beggar. The beggar asks the bird to deliver bread to a homeless man, money to a widow with children, and a gold cross to a sick boy in the hospital. As a result of performing these acts of mercy, the kind bird gets caught in a massive winter snowstorm. All seems lost, until an astonishing turn of events reveals the true identity of the street beggar. An inspiring story of risk and sacrifice, The Beggar and the Bluebird teaches children the true meaning of gift-giving, and demonstrates that great love is always rewarded by God--though not in ways we can predict. The touching and miraculous ending is sure to bring happy tears to young and old readers alike.