Religious books which recount a biblical story for children are frequently plagued by a number of problems that can render them less-than-acceptable in progressive congregations. Too often, the artwork portrays light-skinned characters instead of ones that look like they really do come from the Middle East....
Many have odd or overly literalistic interpretations of the text, and others use "religious" words which are above the comprehension level of the target audience. In the case of the Christmas story, they have a tendency to mash the accounts of Matthew and Luke together. Finally, more than a few of the authors seem to have been confused about whether they were actually writing a book for Christmas or Easter!
A new Christmas story book for young children helps to correct some of these problems. Veteran Christian educator Mary Alice Gran has written, A Child is Born: The Story of the First Christmas
, published by Abingdon Press. It is written for children ages 6-8, and it's certainly appropriate for that age (especially the younger or struggling reader).
Some things I love about it...
- The illustrations really do look a lot like ancient Israel and the people like Hebrew people.
- The language is accessible and deals in an age-appropriate way with Mary's pregnancy. It is not just "Bible-ease" but instead retells the story in language a child will understand.
- The print size is sufficiently large without being obtrusive.
- The story gives some sense of the difficult political situation into which Jesus was born.
- Jesus is portrayed as a young child, not an infant, when the Magi arrive. (Few children's books get this one right!)
- Part of the Lukan account is included from the NRSV.
Two things I wish were different...
- The book mostly takes its story from Luke, but parts of Matthew's version creep in (the angel coming to Joseph in a dream; the Magi).
- The Isaiah 9:6 prophecy is used in a way which is more consistent with a "predictive" understanding of prophecy.
I'm yearning for a Christmas story book for children that finds a way to translate into child-friendly terms some of the recent biblical interpretation by folks like Borg and Crossan, but I still encourage you to take a look at this one for yourself. Overall, the book will make a worthy addition to a church library or to a child's bookshelf.