The Christmas Baby

October 26, 2009
Enjoy the diverse flavors of the season with some sparkling originals, a few familiar faces and fresh takes on the classics.
The Christmas Baby
Marion Dane Bauer
, illus. by Richard Cowdrey. Simon & Schuster
, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-7885-5

“Have you heard?... A baby is coming!” Joseph asks innkeeper after innkeeper to no avail, until he reaches a group of laughing barnyard animals who happily make room. Joseph's refrain is echoed by rosy-faced angels and heard by shepherds and kings, who gather to peer at the child who “smiled at the world with God's own smile.” The final pages shift to the birth of a modern infant whose family gathers around its crib. The parallel should hearten the youngest readers, though the jubilantly cutesy acrylics are sweet to the point of saccharine. Ages 2–5.

October 1, 2009
PreS-KThis simple retelling of the Nativity story begins with Joseph arriving in a tiny town and, after knocking on doors, asking, Have you heard? A baby! A baby is coming! After Joseph and Mary are turned away many times, their donkey takes them to a stable filled with beasts that welcome the couple. The acrylic illustrations are mostly endearing but the page with the angels may remind some readers of the children in Disneylands Its a Small World attraction. After the shepherds and Wise Men come to pay their respects and bring gifts, the book explains that every time a baby is born, stars and angels sing in their satin voices, Have you heard? A baby! Our baby is here! An excess of cuteness adds little to the timeless story."Diane Olivo-Posner, Los Angeles Public Library"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.