The Berenstain Bears, The Very First Christmas

BOOK DESCRIPTION: 
 
A Christmas story from the bestselling Berenstain Bears Living Lights series.

The bestselling Berenstain Bears brand and Living Lights series continue their proven tradition of teaching children valuable lessons in a fun and creative way. In the affordable 8x8 softcover format, The Berenstain Bears and the Night Jesus was Born gives fans of the Berenstain Bears the story of Jesus’ coming … from the angel’s announcement of a new baby to the visit of the three wise men.

This newest Easter title in the Berenstain series is perfect for gift-giving or as an easy addition to any holiday library.

MY THOUGHTS: 

Every Christmas, for the last several years,  we have done the Christmas tradition where the kids each have an advent calendar and we read a Christmas book each night before bed. I was excited to be able to add The Berenstain Bears, The Very First Christmas to our collection. My kids, ages 9, 6 and 3, love the Berenstain Bears and I will admit that I love the wholesome, timeless stories that they portray.

The Berenstain Bears, The Very First Christmas by Jan and Mike Berenstain is no exception. The story begins with Papa Bear asking his cubs which story they would like him to read to them. They chose the Bible story of the First Christmas. The story begins with the Angel appearing to Mary and retells the story of Jesus' birth through the time that the Wise Men brought him gifts. The illustrations were very cute and the story was very appropriate for a kid audience. Personally, I liked how they did not include the Wise Men in the manger scene, but rather portrayed them giving their gifts to an toddler Jesus, which is probably more likely to have happened. The only complaint that I had was the the story did not come back to Papa Bear and his cubs to make the book go full circle. It just abruptly ended with the end of the Biblical story.

Overall, my kids really liked this version of the First Christmas story and this will be added to our library of Christmas books to read for years to come.

DISCLAIMER:   The publisher, Zondervan, provided me a free copy of this book through Booklook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.