Who is Coming to Our House?

When my sons first started to be really interested in having books read to them (at about 12 or 13 months), this was the first book they repeatedly "requested". One of the reasons this book works is that most pages feature a single animal "speaking" a single sentence. This makes it extremely easy to provide a different voice for each animal. (Just make it up--I use a low, slow voice for the cow; a loud, nasal voice for the goose; a soft, high pitched voice for the mouse; an aristocratic, pompous voice for the peacock, etc.) The simple text and the voices really make this book engaging for the little ones. (Though not requested anymore, my 4 year old is still interested in this book if I'm reading it to his 1 1/2 year old brother). Furthermore, the art is wonderful--detailed and realistic, but not cluttered. This is also a very nice Christmas story--but, of course, the nativity story is lost on a one year old. The main reason my children love this book is the lovely art, the animal voices, and the easy way this book sets up the opportunity to pick out, point to, and name different animals and their sounds. Like other reviewers, I often give this book as baby gifts.

I have loved this book for years! It is the sweetest story of Christmas seen through the eyes of the animals. It is my favorite children's Christmas book simply because it is so understated, and yet so powerful. This book is great for toddlers and early readers (my 2nd grader loves reading it to his siblings). A must have for your children's story collection.

Kids all know Santa is coming to their house. Do they know about Jesus coming? If you're looking for ways to give God a little equal time during the pre-Christmas crush, get this book for your kids. Little ones love to hear about animals, so the barnyard perspective of the first Christmas night is particularly effective. They will love the pictures, which depict the busy goings-on of each animal who has a job to prepare the barn for the special visitors. As the pages proceed, a subtle nighttime darkness grows, demonstrating the long wait children will associate with waiting for Christmas: "But it is dark," says Cat. "They will never come," says Rat. "Yes, they'll come, says Mouse. "Someone's coming to this house." The hypnotic cadence of the the spare text will keep them interested and turning pages to find out the answer to the all-important question: "Who is coming to our house?" I bought this book for my under-two-year-old boys and my nearly five-year-old daughter never misses the nightly reading. It is a new Advent family tradition we all enjoy.

I've had this book for 18 years and it's still one of my favorites. I love the simple story line and it tells the story of the birth of Jesus in a unique way. I am working towards becomming a preschool teacher and this will be a must in my classroom. If your looking for the best book for a child this is deffinatly it.

I love this book - my children love this book. We bought it several years ago for my first child; it is now well-loved and well-worn. I teach at a Christian preschool and I am buying each child a copy for Christmas this year. I read it to them last week and the pictures and the suspense of "Who is coming to our house?" held them enthralled and quiet through the entire book...A high recommendation from 12 four-year olds!