Customer Reviews

Legend of the Christmas Tree, The

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rick Osborne's The Legend Of The Christmas Tree: The Inspirational Story Of A Treasured Tradition is a delightful kids' book, for which every page spread has charming text on the left and a full-color, realistically painted illustration by Bill dodge of a family celebrating the joy of Christmas on the right. The story is about the legend behind the tradition of searching for a Christmas tree, which dates back to the Reformation: when Martin Luther brought a tree into his house, he set candles on it to celebrate Jesus, the Light of the World. The Legend Of The Christmas Tree is in many ways about the need to make Jesus Christ a larger part of Christmas. Since the Biblical foundations of Christmas are often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of rampant consumerism that marks the season, The Legend Of The Christmas Tree is a very good introduction for young Christian readers to the holiday's origin. Also very highly recommended are the other fine books in this educational series: The Legend Of The Candy Cane (0310212472, $14.99), The Legend Of The Easter Egg (0310224470, $14.99), and The Legend Of The Valentine (0310700396, $14.99).

I purchased this book for two reasons. It brings to light the true meaning of Christmas...Jesus and sharing love. This story provides another format to talk about the birth of Christ to your children aside from the traditional manger story. There's a light introduction to the biblical significance of Christmas, in addition to the treasure of family unity. I found that this book helps reinforce the values which I am trying to emphasize in my own family, while also cherrishing old time family traditions. In case you were concerned, I don't think it dilutes the truth of the bible...Also, as a mother of two young elementary school-aged children, I also have the opportunity to be a guest reader in the classroom. It is totally appropriate reading for public schools, even though there is biblical reference. This book offers a refreshing change from the fantasy holiday stories and commercialization of Christmas. It will be a special story to your family and it will set a warm-hearted atmosphere to your tree-decorating festivities.

I'll save this one and read it every Christmas, BUT it is extremely heavy on the adjectives, and totally corny. I would skip this one if I were you, for me it's not worth the money to send it back!!

I avidly read children's literature. (I'm a teacher- what can you expect?) I thought the idea of the story was nice, but the author seemed to be trying too hard. The story didn't always flow smoothly from page to page (or sometimes from sentence to sentence). The book seemed to be almost littered with adjectives that distracted me from the story. Save your money.

Another great story in "The Legend Of" series. A great holiday story that's fun for the whole family young and old.

We got this as our annual Christmas book for our family. It's now my toddler's favorite book. He had us read it 6 times Christmas Eve, and he usually hates to read.

I truly enjoyed introducing this book to the family this year - it will become part of our Christmas tradition. I also read it at our Christmas Eve service. The art work is nice too!

This is one of "those" books that everyone should have on their bookshelf. Especially today when people are doing everything from making black Christmas (WHY?) trees to hanging them upside down! Although I didn't particularly think that it was written as well as it should have been (WAY too many adjectives and interruptions in awkward places), it tells the story of how the first Christmas tree was started - by Martin Luther! I found this to be one of the most informative stories of Christmas traditions and even though it's hard to read because of the writing, the information alone makes it worth having on your shelf. Plus, the enchanting way the family in the story is woven into the book is nice as well. Highly recommend, but with the above reservations.

We had the board book version of the Legend of the Christmas Tree. I really appreciated how it presented from a Christian perspective why we use Christmas trees. I knew that the large version of the book would have more information than the board book. It did. The plan is to use this with our children each year after we put up our tree to remind us why we have a tree and how it reflects Christ.

Using the format of a family searching for a Christmas tree, the story tells about the legend which began during the Reformation. In Germany in the 1500's, Martin Luther (founder of the Lutheran Church) brought a tree into his house and he set candles on it to celebrate Jesus, the Light of the World. There's a brief mention of the Biblical significance of Christmas. Many people find it appropriate for public school use along with the singing of the song, "Oh, Christmas Tree."
The birthdays of famous people are recognized so in recognizing Jesus' birthday it is historically significant to know why he is famous.