The Good Book Company (New Zealand) will be closed from Friday 21st December until Thursday 2nd January. Any orders placed during this time will be held and dispatched on Thursday 2nd January 2025. Emails will still be checked. Apologies for any inconvenience this causes.
An engaging retelling of the Christmas story for toddlers.
Part of the Little Me, Big God series.
This simple and biblically-faithful little book will teach toddlers all about the first Christmas. Fun illustrations will engage young children as they listen to God’s word.
Notes at the back unpack the Bible story.
Written and illustrated by Steph Williams, writer, designer, illustrator and mum.
The following free downloads are included with your purchase:
• Activity Pack
• PDF images
• PowerPoint slides
Story
Notes for Parents
| Age range: | 1+ |
|---|---|
| Contributors | Steph Williams |
| ISBN | 9781802540307 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | October 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
Relevant, engaging, accessible words and illustrations. Love the dark skin tones . Our church bought in bulk to give as gifts people who receive diapers from our diaper pantry. Great for sharing the good news. Has scripture in the back!
I love these books so much! A wonderful modern presentation of the wonderful word of God. These books capture the Joy of the Lord every time they work on a new message. The illustrations are beautiful and the focus of the little book is always pointing heavenward. This book sums up the real reason for the season and I bought 30 copies for our toddler group Christmas present.
Praise the Father in heaven for gifted, spiritfilled servants.
We have several of the Little Me, Big God books in this series and I was excited to add a Christmas version for our preschooler. These square, sturdy paperback books are a fun size that my daughter loves to flip through, studying the illustrations which are very eye-catching and full of expression.
The words to this story are very basic, use quite a bit of exclamation and will capture a little one’s attention. Because it’s short in nature, there’s not a lot of deep truths to it. Instead, it focuses more on the surprise that accompanied Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, the surprise of the star in the sky seen by the wise man, the surprise of the shepherds in the field and the surprise that God’s son came to do something for everyone, including the reader.
I was disappointed this didn’t cover more of the plan of salvation, specifically repentance, or the fact that Jesus is God’s Son. I would like to have had the book explain more that Jesus came to save us and provide eternal life, not just fix a broken world. As a result, I’ll use the book as a conversation starter and I will be expounding on God’s plan of salvation, His deity and His promise of eternal life with my preschooler after we read this book.
* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of these books from The Good Book Company. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.
We have really enjoyed this book series from Steph Williams. The books are short and sweet with engaging illustrations for littles.
In this Christmas title, we see the surprise from various faces of the Christmas story. Such as Mary as she exclaims, “Whaaaat!?” upon hearing that God is sending her a baby. We see how remarkable it is that God Himself humbly dwelt among us in human form. We learn that God’s Christmas surprise is for everyone. Great for communicating the Christmas story to littles (2-4 is the ideal age range here).
Book received free of charge in exchange for a review. All opinions my own.
The message of the story is made very clear, and it is easy to understand. The world is broken by people saying no to God and to fix it God promised to send us a King.
I love the note for grown-ups at the end of the book. It explains further our sin problem and how we can be with God forever. Very well done.
The Bible passage is also printed so that readers can see for themselves the Scripture that The Christmas Surprise was based on.
I would highly recommend this book to any family with little children, church nursery, or young preschool Sunday school classroom.
A big thank you to The Good Book Company for this complimentary product to review.
This small paperback book tells the Christmas story for toddlers. Steph Williams writes in simple, child-friendly terms, and her dynamic, exuberant illustrations will appeal to little ones, especially since she overstates surprise and emotion in fun ways. The book starts with the reality of sin and God making a promise to send someone who would fix things forever. Then it moves through the angel's announcement to Mary and other moments from the Christmas story, highlighting at every point how surprising it was that God fulfilled His promise in the way that He did.
The Christmas Surprise shows that Jesus didn't come as a fully-grown, strong king, but as a little baby who was born in a stable instead of a palace. He didn't come for other people to serve him, but to care for others. I particularly like the touch at the end about how he came for people nearby, like the shepherds, and for people from far away, like the wise men. The book concludes by saying that Jesus came for everyone, including you. There is also an author's note at the end for parents, and Luke 1:26-35 appears on the last page.
Although this book emphasizes God's redemptive plan, it does not address the divinity of Christ. The paraphrased dialogue between the angel and Mary says that this wouldn't be an "ordinary baby, but someone who comes from God!" However, the book doesn't explicitly state that Jesus is God, not just a king or a gift from God. Since this is aimed towards toddlers, many parents will be okay with the very simplified approach, since they're just trying to introduce their child to the general, most basic concepts of the Christmas story. However, someone who feels strongly about always introducing Jesus as God incarnate will want to know that this book doesn't cover that theological concept.
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is such a lovely book for young children, telling the Christmas story in a clear and fun way.
It has lots of humour and is a real opportunity for the adult reader to perform some funny voices, which will create many special memories.
The illustrations are colourful and fun and overall make this a great way to present the nativity story to a young audience and excite them with all the surprises that it contains.
What I like about this book is that it didn't quickly dive into the birth of Jesus. Rather it starts with a brief look on the "promise" made by God in the Garden of Eden and Israel. It revolves around people being surprised by Christ coming. The ending would be a good springboard to explain the gospel message to kids. The art is nice, it goes along with the story and appeals for the young reader. But the scene with the angel telling Mary about having a baby is a bit exaggerated. Still a good read for you and your kids.
