A Christmas Prayer by Amy Parker, Illustrated by Marijan Ramljak

A Christmas Prayer is a charming board book that tells about the characters in the Christmas story via the prayer of a small child. It opens with the family, including two little ones, gathered around the tree. The child's Christmas prayer is one of thanks, not for toys and dolls. First, he gives thanks for his family, and then, on succeeding spreads, for Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, the donkey, the manger, the shepherds, the star, and then, for the perfect Christmas gift, Jesus. As the child thanks God for each of these gifts, a toy is added to the sofa. The final words are 

                            God, I know that Christmas 

                            Is more than toys or lists.

                            Thank You for loving me so much

                            And for these Christmas gifts.

My first grader and I read this tonight for our bedtime story and she enjoyed it.  I liked the fact that the Annunciation got mentioned; it isn't always in non-Catholic children's Christmas stories.  The child figures are cute and the way they are drawn, I don't really think you can say whether they are girls or boys, (though they do have a pink doll cradle and dolls).  I think six is about the upper end for this book though.  

Grade:  B+

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”