Customer Reviews

Certain Poor Shepherds

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a little treasure and one of my favorites. It's the story of the night of Christ's birth as perceived by the animals. It is told with great sensitivity by reknowned animal lover Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and as such it is filled with eye-opening empathy and poignant beauty. It has an interesting take on angels as seen by animals, showing them to be very non-human and free of human stereotypes. Perhaps our perceptions of ourselves do color our perceptions of angels as well. It taught me a lot about the way animals might perceive the strange, crude doings of humans and helped me view my relationships with animals with more thoughtfulness. In that sense alone, it is a worthy addition to any library and especially to a holiday collection. I love this book very much. The hard cover is out of print but is pleasingly compact and makes a wonderful heirloom that is worth searching for. This paperback edition is nicely affordable and will make a perfect gift for anyone who loves and lives with animals.

"Certain Poor Shepherds" was given to me as a Christmas gift by a friend several years ago. I treasure this boook and have gone back and read it several times over. I have also purchased it several times over as a Christmas gift to friends. It is a moving tale from the animals' point of view and although I consider this a story for adults and teens, it definitely requires a reader who has a love for animals and for fiction that taps into one's imagination.

This is one of the most wonderful stories I have ever read. I read it every year. It brings back the true meaning of Christmas.

It is sad, but very beautiful. My husband gave it to me on Christmas Eve when it was first published, which also makes the book very special. I have a dog named Sabrina, which reminds me of Lila.

I have purchased several copies of this cassette. I rented it from the library several years ago just before Christmas and had to have a copy for myself. I have since given it to others as gifts. The reader does a great job telling about the "sheperds", who are a dog and a goat, discovering the star and being drawn to it. I listen to it every Christmas. A very touching story!

I'm glad I bought this book on a marked-down sale. It was the most depressing dog/Christmas book I have read in my life. The angels did not possess supernatural powers - they had to eat acorns and grass, were injured and could be attacked by an eagle. And the poor animals, their whole lives were nothing but loneliness, hunger, mistreatment by humans, and their young drowned. This is certainly not a book I would recommend for young readers. It could have been written so much more positively and uplifting. Little was actually made of the birth of Jesus, the whole reason for the star and their treck to Bethlehem. I had bought it as a possibility to read at our family's Chrstmas gathering but thank goodness I read it first. I give it a thumbs-down for content and appropriatness for young readers. Even for older readers it is not very uplifting and enjoyable.