Lovely kids book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This book has the potential to appeal to children aged between 4 and 8 years. The illustrations are fantastic and colourful, and the story of the nativity is told in a way that children should find engaging.

In addition to the stars of the show, we also have the Three Wise Men, the shepherds, and a variety of animals making an appearance. All of them are portrayed in an interesting way.

For me, the fact that the rhyming was not always done in a consistent manner was a problem. But to be fair, this is an all too common problem in children's books which are written in rhyming text.

Overall, the book has a certain charm - but the art is undoubtedly doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.

An accurate version of the Christmas Story but I was disappointed by the rhyming aspect of it - sometimes it works bust mostly it doesn’t. I loved the illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the author for the arc.. These are my own views freely given.

A great easy to read book. My son enjoyed reading it with me and made comparisons to his own school nativity.

An excellent addition to the classroom to help children explore the Nativity story in more detail. Bob Hartman is a tried and trusted writer of Christian books for children. In this text his rhymes are fresh and accessible and the accompanying bold illustrations are highly appealing, giving an almost graphic novel appearance to the text. Key elements of the Nativity story are separated into chapters, so that this is a book that can be explored over several sittings and does not need to be read from cover to cover. I think this is a book children would return to again and again, drawn in by Mark Beech’s superb illustrations and Bob Hartman’s engaging text.

This is a nice Christmas Nativity Story, told by Bob Hartman in a rhyming fashion, accompanied by a lot of quirky and unique illustrations. The book is suitable for 3-5 year olds, but I would say that it is also suitable for older children too.

In the story, we are shown the Angel Gabriel, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the three kings, some animals and baby Jesus, as well as gorgeous scenery. Children will learn the Bible Story of Christmas, in a fun and entertaining way.

My daughter and I enjoyed the book, although my daughter felt that it was a bit long for her. She is 6 years old.

This book is suitable for Christians and anyone who wants to learn more about the Christmas Nativity Story.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I absolutely loved the illustrations in this one - they were fun and quirky! However, the rhyming let the book down unfortunately!

I love a rhyming story, they are great fun to read to both my children and my class. The rhyming here did not always follow the same rhythm though, and some of it just did not rhyme at all! Rather than making it a fun read and a great way to teach the nativity story to young children, it just became a bit disjointed.

I've long admired Bob Hartman and his knack for getting listeners engaged as he retells familiar Bible stories in a new way. The Rhyming Christmas does not disappoint with The Christmas Story being told in bright pictures and a gentle rhythm that captures the excitement of the First Christmas.
If you were to read it to a group of children, you would probably want to rehearse it first as some of the rhythms are not as easy as they initially seem to fit but it could also be enjoyed as a straight story.
In school, I would consider using this as a basis for a Nativity play with older children who could learn to read the different parts of the story, or use it as part of a collective worship on the Christmas story.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Bob Hartman's Rhyming Christmas was a book I had high hopes for but found quite disappointing unfortunately. The illustrations are quirky and fun but I expected the whole book to rhyme but it was quite disjointed. The rhymes didn't all rhyme and some were a rhyme but then at the end of the rhyme it was a statement that didn't rhyme. This to Mr made it quite hard to read which if I was reading it to children would find quite confusing and off-putting.

I loved the illustrations and rhymes. I cannot want to share it with young family members. I am now looking forward to Christmas.

The Christian Christmas story as you’ve never seen it. A rhyming re telling of the story of baby Jesus written in basic text for younger children. It’s a great way to introduce this most loved bible story in full from the angels to King Herod and the Shepherds.
These rhymes would definitely be a brilliant new way to stage the Nativity in a school.