Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Jesus Is Born: The Bethlehem Story


Jesus is Born! The Bethlehem Story, by Rev. Jim Reimann, tells the story of Jesus’ birth. The author starts with Gabriel’s visit to Mary and ends with the shepherds finding baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

The story is told in rhyme, in six short verses. The cartoon-like illustrations, by Julia Filipone Erez, are colorful and expressive.

The author used Acts 9:1-20 as a reference for his story.

What I Like: I like the colors used in the illustrations, as well as the details of the drawings.

What I Dislike: However, having said that, I don’t think the illustrations work well with the story. They way they are done makes the whole thing look like simply a cartoon, or a fairy tale.

As many of you know, I’m not a big fan of rhyming picture books as they are difficult to write well. Although the verses rhyme, the rhyme is forced in most instances, making for awkward sentence structures.

Overall Rating: Ho hum.

Age Appeal: I’d say 4-8 would be the appropriate age group for this book, as the story is quite short. However, some of the vocabulary is over and above that normally used for this age group.

Publisher Info: Intelecty LTD, 2014; ISBN: 9789657607008; Paperback, $6.99.


 


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