This Far Eastern-flavored tale from Christian writer Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box) teaches a simple lesson of humility: in the words of a wise, old woman, "To be great is not to be higher than another, but to lift another higher."

Evans's storytelling pluck and homespun wisdom are in ample evidence here, as a young villager decides (à la Yertle the Turtle) that if he can only look down on enough people, he will become truly great. So the man constructs a platform and eventually the eponymous tower, only to find that--as with all time-honored stories about reaching too high--it doesn't work.

As befits the Evans ethic, the story ends with a shot at redemption, and Jonathan Linton's vivid, photorealistic illustrations (though jarring at first) ably convey the young man's subtle transformation. (A sequel of sorts to The Christmas Candle, a story of charity, and The Spyglass, a story of faith.) (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes