Christmas in the Manger Board Book: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids

I bought this book for my one-year-old son. As another reader mentioned, it doesn't really explain Christmas, but then again, it's anyone's guess how much of an explanation a one-year-old understands anyway. In every other way, the book is excellent: the simple poetry (based partly on the old carol "The Friendly Beasts") sounds touching and beautiful when read aloud; the illustrations are warm and appealing; even the layout of the book, with large letters on one page and a single bold image on the facing page, is elegantly designed and well-adapted to young children. I love to look at the illustrations: Mary looks joyful and loving, the animals look friendly but not too "cutesy," and (rarest of all) Baby Jesus actually looks like a scrawny newborn, not a chubby one-year-old, as most people draw the Nativity scene. I recommend this as your child's first Christmas book.

I can't think of a better way to share the miracle of birth of Christ with my children. This is an excellent children's book.

Christmas in the Manger is a pat-and-peek book. It lets young children get involved in the story of the birth of Jesus in a very personal way by letting them touch the animals in the manger and the gifts the wise men bring the baby Jesus. The simple rhymes appeal to young children. It is intriguing how such a profound story can be related with such simplicity and easily understood by toddlers. Every Christian home should have a copy!

If you are looking for a book that tells the real story of Christmas in a style that all ages can comprehend, this one is it. It focuses on the animals in the stable, the shepherds, the star, Joseph and Mary. The last line of the book says it all for me: "I am the baby, asleep in the hay, and I am the reason for Christmas day."