Santa’s Birthday Gift
Thank you to Mother-Daughter Reviews for the awesome review of Santa’s Birthday Gift!
Here is a portion:
What I liked and disliked about it: If you have been following me for a while, you will already know that we are BIG, BIG fans of Sherrill Cannon and her wonderful books. You can check out our review of one of our favorites, Gimme-Jimmy. There are some things that Sherrill Cannon just does so well. She is a story-teller who uses rhyme to bring originality into tales which always contains a strong message for children regarding appropriate behaviour. In Santa’s Birthday Gift, Cannon provides us with a story to share with children who are curious about the relationship between Santa and Baby Jesus at Christmas-time.
I just really love the concept of this book. The story begins with the re-telling of the birth of Baby Jesus in Bethlehem and the coming of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts. The angels then come to visit the “small, holy boy” spreading the word about his birth. And then, we are introduced to an angel named Santa Claus who is a toy maker living at the North Pole. Santa also visits Baby Jesus with a sack full of toys and a unique gift which is a special promise to Jesus. Can you guess the promise made that magical night?
I am satisfied with the way that Cannon brings together these two stories. I know that some people would be offended by the idea that Santa could be an angel that was present at the time of Jesus’ birth, but I think it is really done in a very respectful way. I think Christians and non-Christians alike would like this story, because the underlying message is still about the glory of the birth of Christ and Santa is portrayed as someone who was inspired by Christ to share and spread His love.
One final word about the illustrations… These illustrations are not as “cartoony” as some of Cannon’s other books. They remind me of some of the older Little Golden books from decades ago and consequently they give the book a certain warmth that I really enjoyed.
My bottom line: This is a wonderful Christmas picture book that my kids and I enjoyed reading. I would highly recommend this book to families with children ages 3 years and older.
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