Christmas decorating mishap yields children's book

Is your heart ready to grow several sizes?

Author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi and his daughter, Sophia, were decorating their Christmas tree a few years ago when a near-crisis occurred.

Sophia, then eight years old, dropped an ornament. As it shattered, DiTerlizzi watched the panic and guilt cross her face.

His response was fast and fateful: Every time an ornament breaks, he told her, a Christmas fairy is born.

DiTerlizzi’s wife also reacted quickly; she told him that should be his next children’s book.

Read more about The Broken Ornament on NPR’s website or listen to the segment below.