A Rare Nativity

A Rare Nativity by Sam Beeson (Images by Nina & Terral Cochran)

Blurb:

"We've all heard the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and we've all seen the traditional Christmas crèche. Now, author Sam Beeson and photographers Nina and Terral Cochran combine these two classic Christmas icons to create A Rare Nativity. Upon reading the first lines of the book, it's clear the narrator holds a bitter grudge as he sends his enemy crude and discarded gifts...Night after night the "gifts" pile up--shards of glass, rusty nails, gnarled twigs, and more. What the narrator's enemy decides to do with each of these odious gifts is nothing less than a Christmas miracle. The photographic creation of the rare nativity at the end of the book is both a work of art and a wonder to behold. Forgiveness is something we all need to give and receive, and A Rare Nativity opens our eyes to the act of forgiveness and the true meaning of Christmas. It's a universal message to be shared with readers of all ages. Christmas is a season for giving. Make it a season of forgiving."

My Review:

I have to admit that this book was not at all what I imagined when I opened the cover. When I think of Christmas books, I think of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, I think of angels and wise men, and I think of happiness and joy. I think of children smiling, of carols, and of family. I also think of yummy treats. When I opened this book I expected to find those things, or things that are similar. Especially thinking of the nativity, I think of Joseph and Mary with their baby in the stable. I think of angels, wise men, and shepherds. That is not what I found when I opened this book, and it definitely surprised me. This book is very different from every other Christmas book I have ever read, and I'm still trying to decide if that is a good thing or not. It opens with the line, "On the first night of Christmas I gave my enemy a briar from a tanglewood tree." This includes a picture of a burr-like thing; I'm assuming it's a briar. It goes on like that for many pages, with the narrator giving his enemy all these awful things. In the end, there is a good moral, it all comes together, and you understand. However, I felt like it focused way too much on the negative gifts and the enemy. Maybe it's because it's Christmas, but I just felt like it was 90% negative and 10% positive, and even though the positive was good, it wasn't enough to win me over. It's still a good book, and it's a good lesson to teach my kids, but unfortunately it will not be my new favorite Christmas book. If you're looking for something different this year, then A Rare Nativity will be just the book for you!

Rating: G (It's clean)

Recommendation: Everyone

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.