ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

It's hard to tell at first where this book is going. "My father collects tears," it begins. The tears are balls of sap that seep from the trees. Together, father and son walk over desolate terrain, looking for trees that will deliver the tears used for medicine and embalming. Father is especially good at finding them. But it is left to the boy to carve out the biggest tear of all to sell to the Wise Men, who are bringing it as part of a gift to a special babe. This quiet story may not grab readers at first, with little action beyond simply the clipped wanderings and working of a man and his son. The desert-sand color that saturates the pages also gives a stillness to the art, though the nearly photorealistic faces of the duo are arresting. Yet at the conclusion, when the boy wonders about the gift's recipient, children may be set wondering as well. The extensive author's note explains Park's reasons for writing this picture book and adds welcome detail.

Horn Book

A boy learns from his father how to collect "tears" ("the pearls of sap that seep out of a tree when the bark is cut...maybe they are called tears because it seems as if the tree is crying"). Three wise men take one of them as a gift to the Baby Jesus. Textured acrylic-gouache illustrations set the scene nicely in this lyrically told story.

Kirkus Reviews

Newbery Medalist Park offers a Christmas story explaining how myrrh is harvested and how it came to be one of the gifts carried to the Christ Child by the three Wise Men. Her story begins with an intriguing opening line: "My father collects tears." The story is narrated by a boy whose father is teaching him to harvest dried pearls of sap that bleed out of myrrh trees when the bark is cut. The dried sap, the boy postulates, is "called tears because it seems as if the tree is crying." The narrator explains the various applications of the tears, including the funereal use of the very best tears. The father allows his son to harvest the largest tear during their search, which is then sold at the spice market to three men who are taking special gifts to a baby. As the men leave on their camels, the boy is left wondering about this baby. The mysterious tone of the text and subtle references to tears, blood and mourning foreshadow the fate of this special newborn. Large-format illustrations in a subdued palette are suffused with golden light, complemented by parchment-colored backgrounds for the text blocks. The cumulative effect of text and illustrations has a sad rather than celebratory feeling, unusual in a Christmas-themed story and therefore refreshing in a usually relentlessly cheery season. (author's note) (Picture book/religion. 6-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Somewhere in Ibatoulline-s ancient, almost-shimmering Arab desert landscape, a boy at his father-s side learns the family business of gathering valuable sap, which seeps like tears from certain trees. Neither father nor son realize the greatness of their wares as it is sold to three finely dressed men who add it to gifts of gold and frankincense that they are taking to -a baby.- Newbery Medalist Park-s lean, well-paced story bridges the ordinary and the sacred to powerful effect. Park-s author-s note describes her inspiration and includes some background on myrrh. Ages 6-9. (Nov.)

School Library Journal (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

K-Gr 2 A boy tells of the long walks he takes with his father, who collects pearls of sap from certain trees, a skill he has honed over years. These expensive "tears" are used as medicine and spice, and as incense at funeralsand when three strangers arrive at the marketplace to buy the finest tears "for a baby," readers discover that it is myrrh, one of the gifts to baby Jesus mentioned in Matthew 2:11. The hyperrealistic acryl-gouache illustrations depict the sandy beige hues and nuanced textures of a dry and inhospitable land, contrasting with the smooth skin and rounded cheeks of the young boy and his loving relationship with his father. This gorgeous picture book sheds thoughtful light on a fascinating facet of the Christmas story. Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library