Jesús, Mary, and Joseph -- a Sweet Religious Christmas Story with Crafts to Go with It & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I am working with Children's Book Review and Kathleen T. Pelley and will receive a small stipend for this review. I was sent a digital copy of this book to write this review. All opinions are my own.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I love all the joy and happiness that the season brings. I also love the message of Jesus Christ being born and what that means for us. I always am happy to check out new Christmas books. Today I get to share a really sweet new Christmas book with you.

From the Publisher:

The book is Jesús, Mary, and Joseph written by Kathleen T. Pelley and illustrated by Dubravka Kolanovic. It is recommended for ages 3-7 and has 32 Pages.

Publisher: Journey with Story Press | ISBN-13: 9780578651965

Publisher’s Synopsis: After Jesús finally lands a part as an innkeeper in his school’s Nativity play, he asks God to help him be the best innkeeper ever. Day by day, he grows more and more confident in his role, but on opening night, he finds himself so swept up in this long-ago world, that when Mary and Joseph ask him, ”Do you have any room at your inn?” he comes up with his own answer, causing chaos on the stage.

You can purchase the book at Amazon and Bookshop.org and where new books are sold.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KATHLEEN T. PELLEY is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, but spent most of her childhood summers playing on her grandparents’ farm in Ireland. Her passion for stories stemmed from listening to them on the radio during the BBC children’s story hour. She is the award-winning author of seven other picture books and hosts her own storytelling podcast, Journey with Story.

For more information, visit https://kathleenpelley.com.

From Me:

This book is written as prayers said by Jesús. In the prayers he shares a bit about the nativity story. There are comparisons like his mother's pride to Mary's when she heard the news from Gabriel and his stage fright compared to the shepherds' fear when they saw the angels in the field. Each pray is made with requests for himself as well as blessings for others in the story. Plus the ending is so sweet. His mistake shares a whole new message about Jesus and truly makes Jesús a star. 

At the end of the book Jesús makes himself a star ornament since he was a star in the play. The illustrations in the book are cute. They are drawn and on the simpler side but they fit the story perfectly. This book is recommended for ages 3 to 7 and the narrator is a young boy. The illustrations help make this clear. It is a perfect book for the Christmas season and will help bring the child's focus on the true reason for the season. I hope you will check it out!

Crafts to go with the Book:

In the story, Jesús makes a star ornament for himself. Here are some ideas for star ornaments.

I created this star printable to be done with any age kids. You can click the picture to get a downloadable page. Here are some things we did with it.

Gold & silver star confetti glued to each side of star

I traced the star shape onto glitter craft foam and glued the two together

Hazel covered this one with Washi tape.

I also made some needle felted star ornaments. To do this I used a star cookie cutter, wool roving and my needle felting tool and base. The more you put poke the felt the stiffer and stronger it will be.

I made two ornaments. Here are how they looked. After needle felting I used a needle to put a string through them.

I also tried to find some simple origami stars. I have made some in the past that required multiple papers. I found an easy one-page one here, but the shape is not really that great. I also found one to fold the paper and cut to make a star. It took some practice. 

Happy star making!

Giveaway:

Enter for a chance to win a Jesús, Mary, and Joseph prize pack! Good luck!

One (1) grand prize winner receives:

• A hardcover copy of Jesús, Mary, and Joseph, autographed by Kathleen T. Pelley
• A paperback copy of Five Little Angels
• An Audible copy of Five Little Angels
• A $25 Barnes and Noble gift card
• A Nativity sticker book
• A shoutout on the Journey with Story podcast

Five (5) winners receive:

• A hardcover copy of Jesús, Mary, and Joseph, autographed by Kathleen T. Pelley
• A Nativity sticker book

The giveaway ends November 30, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
Jesús, Mary, and Joseph Giveaway