Customer Reviews

Story of Christmas (Bilingual English and Spanish)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for my daughter, who is 4. I think the text is a little young for her, but it's a clear, simple version of the story. The best part is that it doesn't pile on the religious interpretations. It just tells the basic facts of the story: angel appears to Mary, Mary and Joseph prepare for the baby, donkey ride to Bethlehem, no room in the inn, Jesus born in stable, wise men follow star, angel appears to shepherds, we give gifts on Christmas "to show our love and to say Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus."

Now, I know for a fact that my daughter will ask WHY the angel appeared to the shepherds, etc., but this book gives us the chance to explain that in our own way. I bought this to go with the Fisher Price Little People nativity set to start explaining the story of Christmas, and I think they'll go very well together. (The nativity set doesn't have any shepherds, so we're planning to use the little farmer from her barnyard set! Hey, close enough.)

This is a great book for toddlers to help them understand the true meaning of Christmas. It is easy reading with great pictures. A great Christmas gift.

This is a wonderful book to teach young children the true meaning of Christmas. It ties in the tradition of gift-giving very nicely. An excellent stocking stuffer for all the little ones on your list!

I love this little book. The story is simple. The story is easy to understand. The illustrations are very good. Unlike another little Christmas book I bought for my 2-year-old, this one actually does tell the story of Christmas.

The Story of Christmas tells the traditional Nativity story, pleasantly illustrated with a single sentence describing each important scene. By necessity, some important details are left out which will have to be filled in later: Joseph is referred to as Mary's husband rather than her fiance. This is an understandable simplification given that they were in an engagement contract somewhere between a Western engagement and marriage, and this takes far more explanation than is possible in a board book. Still, a reader might miss the fact that Jesus was the direct offspring of God, not Joseph. There is also a mention of a cow and donkey in the stable, which is a plausible inference but is not strictly supported by the Gospel account(Luke 2:1-7), which doesn't say whether Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem, or if any animals were present that night.

Still, all the major events are presented nicely: the angel's appearance, the journey to Bethlehem, arrival at Bethlehem, no room in the inn, the baby's birth, the announcement to the shepherds, and the tribute of the kings. The book grounds the story in modern Christmas observance of giving gifts, ending with, "We give gifts at Christmas to show our love and to say, 'Happy birthday, Baby Jesus.'"

This is not an essential addition to a Christian family's observance of Christmas, but is a very nice read-aloud for very young listeners. It covers the events in a detailed enough way that they will be familiar when the listener is ready for a fuller version. Its illustrations are more detailed than other Nativity board books I have seen and ought to provide some interest for toddler "read-alone" time as well as read-aloud.

Personally, I LOVE this book, but it's not my baby's favorite. I don't know if it's because the illustrations aren't bright enough or what, but she's never taken an interest in this one like she does with her other board books that have brighter pictures - more baby friendly I guess. THe message of this book is wonderful, explaining why we give gifts. Important to let children know that JESUS is the reason for the season.

This book is a great version of the Christmas story for toddlers and Preschool-aged children. It's got detailed illustrations, and tells the story simply. It answers the question, "why do we give gifts on Christmas?" We read it to our boys (ages 2 and 5) a few times during Advent, and then once more before we opened gifts. I highly recommend this to families to use leading up to Christmas.

My son (2 1/2 yrs) got this book from his grandma and adores it. It totally helped him understand and love the Christmas story. Then I tried to buy another for my goddaughter at Barnes & Noble, and they have the same book re-illustrated by someone new. It's got weird cartoony-looking drawings. (Um, there's enough cartoons at Christmas time, lets get real!) So in response to the review(s) saying the illustrations are boring, outdated, or unappealing, I disagree. I and my son both prefer the sweet and life-like characters in this Lorraine Wells version.

I wanted a simple book to help teach my 2 year old daughter that Christmas is the celebration of our Savior's birth. This was a simple, straight forward book that helped do this well. The concepts were simple and so was the art, which was nice for my daughter. She really liked this book and would read it by herself as well as with me. There are parts that were probably simplified too much and some perspectives that I did not necessarily agree with. But as a kid's book about the Christmas story, it was good. It is a great starting point to talk to your kids about Christ and Christmas. I recommend adding it to your Christmas collection.

I teach ESL (English as a Second Language) and use Christian books as "first readers" for my students.