The First Night

by B.G. Hennessy

Book Overview

With utter simplicity, the story of Jesus's birth is recounted in this exquisite book. It frames the first few hours of his life - before the angels, the shepherds, and the kings - when this baby... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670830267
• ISBN13: 9780670830268
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Viking Children's Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.9" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Love the illustrations; text is so-so

I am an illustration fanatic, and this book has wonderful, wonderful illustrations. The text I am just not sold on -- I would probably give it only two stars for text. I would almost prefer the book had no text at all -- only these gorgeous illustrations. After all, I know the Christmas story and I can tell it using these pictures. I love the angels inside the front and back cover. I would buy a Christmas card of any illustration in this book.

A Beautiful Spiritual Account of the Nativity

I bought this book years ago for my son (who's now 17)...it's a simple, beautifully illustrated version of the Nativity. The simple spirituality conveyed in this book is profound. "The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us." In its sweet description of the quiet moments of Jesus' first hours of life on earth, the story reminds children (and adults) that our Savior was human and felt all the things that we as humans feel. It's just beautiful and incredibly moving.

Reverently simple introduction to the Christmas story for the little ones

This book is so amazing! I searched and searched for the right book to share with my children when they were very small. Too many of the books tried to do too much explaining to toddlers. As a previous reviewer put it, 'this book sets the stage' and I'll add that it sets an extremely reverent tone in a way very small children can understand. It's not just beautiful, it's simple and deep - perfect for kids aged 2-5, but my older kids still enjoy pulling it out to look at the paintings and read the plain text aloud.

The perfect bedtime story to read on Christmas Eve.

I discovered this book during the past holiday season and was taken in by the simplistic, yet beautiful re-telling of the Christmas story. Giving life to the words, the illustrations are enchanting. My niece and I enjoyed sharing this book together and I look forward to reading it to my own children on Christmas Eve for many years to come.