I was pleased when I saw that a children’s Christmas book I ordered had arrived. It’s always nice when you are able to see a book in person and buy it off the shelf, knowing that it meets your expectations, but I was grateful to find that the book I had ordered was much to my liking.  As you can see, my teddy bear liked it very much, too.

 My Merry Christmas was written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and beautifully illustrated by Sara Gianassi. Sally Lloyd-Jones is an author of New York Times best-selling children’s books. She resides in New York City. Though you may not be able to tell from the photo, the tree on the cover has fine white glitter to make it glisten, making it enticing to little ones (and maybe even to us grown-ups). It is a 20-page board book with a nicely padded cover.

This book is written in easy-flowing rhyme. The pages alternate between the adorable forest critters decorating their snowy tree and the story of Christ’s birth. The author relates the tree and its decorations to aspects of the Christmas story. The text and illustrations prompt the children listening to make these symbols a heart connection to the story of Christmas and invite the Lord to “light our path,” “live in us,” and “be our King.” They also encourage them to “sing for joy on Christmas Day” and to thank God for Christmas Day. My Merry Christmas begins with “What is Christmas? Do you know?” and ends with John 3:16.

One of the pages in the book says:
“The tree that’s green when others die
Tells us Jesus came and why.”
That page provides an opportunity to explain that Jesus came to take the punishment for the bad things we’ve done and that, if we believe in Jesus and ask God to forgive us, Jesus can live inside of us.

This book is a great way to help kids focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. The recommended age range is sometimes reported as 2 to 5 and sometimes 4 to 7. In my opinion, it would suit ages 3 to 6 well. It seems to be widely available, sometimes at a very reasonable price.