Customer Reviews

The First Christmas

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

 

 

I was browsing in Barnes and Noble last night, and my husband and I were juggling our seven-month-old and our two-year-old. One glance at this cover was all I needed to promptly grab it off the shelf and momentarily hand off the beloved baby so I could use two hands to peruse the evocative pages.

The illustrations are stunning. In a word: reverent. The bold colors cause the light in the pictures to bound off the pages. With every turn of the page, I caught my breath as another piercing illustration caused a reverie. What's even more impressive is the text is clean, and simple, and serves as a faithful backdrop for the pictures of the beginning of the life of our Messiah. I was not at all surprised to find that this is a Guideposts-published book.

Each time I flip through, I find a new favorite illustration. For the moment, I'm stuck on the depiction of the Three Wise Men. The portrayal, while probably accurate, is also breathtaking in its beauty.

Whether you have children or not, this book is worth owning. And, as a parent, I look forward to reading this one to my babies. Purchase and enjoy--you won't be disappointed.

If you know the real reason for the holiday season you will buy this book. It's not preachy, and does not make you feel like a bad Christian or parent for enjoying the holidays (santa, presents, lights, tree, etc). A must have to help your young ones understand why we celebrate in December at all!

My 3 1/2 year old boy really enjoys this book. He's a book lover, and very patient when I read him longer stories such as this one. I could see some children needing to start this one at a little later age.

Beautiful illustration.

Initially enjoyed the picture quality of this book. However, with further reading it proved to have a very PC/revisionist feel. One of the shepherds was in fact an African American shepherdess. Her companion appeared to be an African American male. Why?

On a separate note of preference: Jesus' (adult) hands were illustrated with frightening, long, glistening nails. Cringe.

We will not be keeping this book. I also will not be donating it to the thrift store. Its pros do not outweigh its very strange cons.

I have loved this book since I first saw it. Carol Heyer's illustrations are rich and detailed. This is a thorough telling of the nativity based on scriptural record. It includes Mary's experience with the angel telling her she would bear the Son of God. It covers Joseph's hesitation, and then reassurance from an angel, their journey to Bethlehem and the coming of the shepherds.
I appreciate the accuracy of having the wise men absent from the manger scene. This includes their experience with Herod and the warning they receive not to return and tell him where they found Jesus. We also see Joseph and Mary bring the baby to the temple where Simeon and Anna testify that he is the Messiah.
Each two-page spread is illustrated with at least one full page. These pictures beautifully illustrate the story and would work for using your own words if the detailed narration is too much for smaller children.
If you are wanting a book that doesn't "dumb-down" the nativity story, this may be what you are looking for.