The Very First Christmas

You'll want this for the little person in your life.  I know there are about a billion retellings of the Christmas story, but this one is truly special.  It combines the friendliness of the Berenstain Bears with the Truth of the Gospel in a way that isn't cutesie or preachy.  It's really precious.  I'm giving it five stars.

I like the Berenstain Bears ordinarily, but this book is in my top three faves.  Even my 14-year-old was admiring the illustrations and enjoying the book.  Jan and Mike Berenstain put a great deal of thought into every phrase in the writing and every expression on the bears' faces, the colours used... everything.

The actual storyline is just as you would expect.  It begins with Mary being visited by an angel and ends with Joseph being warned in a dream to take his family and flee.  No crazy embellishments, but they did leave out the bit about how Joseph was told not to worry about Mary being a strumpet and to go marry her anyway.

I have the highest praise for this book.  It retails for just under $4 USD, but I found it on Amazon this morning - with Prime shipping included - for just over $2.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”