Oh yes, Christmas is upon is, and every day in the classroom I am reading stories relating to Christmas and winter… since this story telling happens several times a day, however tenuous the link to the theme, I have to take it!
This book however, links in perfectly, and I have read it to children of different ages. It's a handy book for the classroom because it is available in big book format so we can read it during the Literacy Hour, and still be a bit cross curricular.
The inside front cover of the book gives some information about advent candles, and explains what each of the 5 candles represent. I thought at first that this was a bit strange, but it does explain that on some of the pages, there is an advent ring hidden for the children to find.
There is an explanation of the main events of the nativity story as told in the four Gospels, and the author explains that whilst every attempt has been made to keep the story as accurate as possible, the four Biblical accounts are different. It is therefore important to interpret the story in our own way.
The book itself is set out in such a way that on each double page spread, the writing is on the left hand side, and on the right hand side, to accompany the text, is a full size picture. In the big book version, these illustrations are very clear and detailed, and offer children lots to talk about.
After the telling of the story of Jesus' birth, the final page refers back to Advent, and explains why we light the final candle on Christmas Day.
The inside back cover of the book gives some ideas for activities which are Literacy based as well as other activities, which are handy not only for teachers but for anyone wanting to know how to extend their children's understanding.
~~**~~Price and Availability~~**~~
The RRP for the big book is £14.95, but is available at www.amazon.co.uk for £11.96. There are also often online offers if books are purchased in sets.
Part of the Times to Remember series, there are several other books available, including:
A Very Special Sunday: A Story for Easter A Day of Rest: The Story of Shabbat Let My people Go: A Story for Passover A Birthday To Celebrate: a Story of Guru Nanak A Row of Lights: The Story of Rama and Sita.
All of the books are available in big book format as well books for pupils which are "normal size" books.
~~**~~Verdict~~**~~
This book offers a good degree of information about the Nativity story, and the pictures seem to be quite historically correct- at least, to me, the clothes and background detail looks realistic and authentic. I like the pictures which give us lots to talk about, and which are mainly what I call "feel good" pictures- lots of smiling people and golden angels.
The text is written in a nice large clear font, and although it will be too difficult for young children to read themselves, they will be able to follow the text as an adult reads. For very young children, I tend to tell the story myself by talking about what we can see on the pictures because I always think it's best not to get children too wrapped up in the text. The pictures are very appealing to children, so they will have plenty to talk about, and if they have heard the Christmas story before, they can usually sequence the story themselves by looking at the pictures.
This is a useful book to have around during the build up to Christmas. There is quite a high level of information, but told in such a way so that even if children are reading the book themselves, they will understand what's going on. The pictures are delightful and match the text exactly- they are also exactly what children expect to see- no surprising clothes or strange looking angels!
A good book about the nativity which I would recommend.
Thanks for reading.
Daniela x
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