Every child wonders "why" and "how" and "what." By posing open-ended questions, The Wonder of Christmas is sure to capture your child's unquenchable curiosity. Imaginatively set on the stage of a Christmas pageant, this book will delight children ages 4-8 as they read about the events of the night Jesus was born.
Dandi Daley Mackall has written more than 400 children's books, and The Wonder of Christmas shows she hasn't lost her rhythm or sense of humor.
Teaming with illustrator Dave Hill, Mackall offers a new twist on the word "wonder." A church's youngsters are putting on the annual Christmas pageant, playing the parts of angels, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, the innkeeper, and wise men. As they tell the biblical tale of the Christ child's birth (Luke 1), they speculate out loud about what people in the story were "wondering." They wonder what Mary thought when a real angel appeared before her, and what Joseph wondered when an angel spoke to him in a dream, and what the shepherds wondered when a sky filled up with angels who then spoke to them. Ultimately, the child performers wonder what they, themselves, will feel this holiday season.
They discover that they feel awe and love for their Savior, and instead of taking a bow at the end of their church performance, they turn and make a bow to heaven in honor of Jesus.
The colorful drawings have shadings and angles and shadows that make them seem like photographs, such as the dark room in which a sleeping Joseph's face is lighted by the glow from the angel speaking to him, or the close-up full-face profile of a young girl who tries to imagine what it must have been like for Mary to have to give birth in a pile of straw, while in the far background of the drawing the young actors are portraying that scene on stage. The story is told in rhyming poetry that young readers can follow and preschoolers can relate to. This is a double story, with the obvious story of the children putting on a play being supplemented by the story of the birth of the babe in a manger. Youngsters will like it and learn from it. -- Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 stars(4 out of 5 stars)
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4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Shaun Tabatt (Cottage Grove, MN), November 21, 2008
If you have small children, you’re sure to have conversations that are chock full of questions. The great thing about questions is that they often present the opportunity for you to have meaningful conversations with your children. It’s hard to think of a more important topic of discussion than the birth of Jesus Christ that we celebrate each year at Christmas. The Wonder of Christmas is chock full of the type of questions your children might have about the Christmas story.
For much of the book, the reader is presented with open-ended questions about what the angels, Mary, Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, and the wise men might have thought or felt in the midst of the Christmas story. Towards the end of the book it transitions from questions into statements about how the reader should feel and act towards Jesus in light of the Christmas story. As you read the book you see a children’s Christmas pageant unfolding before your eyes. The given scene on a page corresponds to the question or statement at hand. Dave Hill’s illustrations are lifelike, but still playful with a bit of a cartoonish flair to them. As always, Dandi Daley Mackall’s poetic style is a pleasure to read.
The Wonder of Christmas is a great book to share with your children during this Christmas season. It will afford you many opportunities for meaningful conversation with your children about the true meaning of the Christmas story each time you read it.
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