The First Christmas Night [Book Review & Giveaway]

*The winner is Tracey D. Congrats, Tracey! Be looking for an e-mail. Please respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.*

You guys! I am so excited to be reviewing The First Christmas Night by Keith Christopher, Illustrated by Christine Kornacki. Plus, I get to giveaway one copy to one of you! Eeek!

I knew nothing about this book when I was first offered an opportunity to review it. All I knew was we love books in our home, I want to start Christmas traditions of our own around here, and I was told this book is The Night Before Christmas with a twist.

Now, I'm not sure about you, but I've always loved the sing-songy poetry of The Night Before Christmas. I was so excited to hear someone had taken the story of Jesus' birth and wrote it in prose appealing to a child. I wasn't even phased the age recommendation for this book is 4-8. Something in me knew it could appeal even to a 20 month old.

I was not disappointed.

In fact, Zoë has now made it a bed time ritual asking for "Jesus", by which she means she wants to read The First Christmas Night. And if she can get her hands on it during the day, even better! This makes my heart leap for joy as she is constantly being exposed to the story of our Savior's birth. She is constantly being exposed to the reminder He came down to earth as baby - helpless, completely dependent on someone else. Though the story may not reach that far with her now, laying the foundation through a book constantly exposing her to the truth of the beginning of what He did for us brought me to tears on a couple of occasions as we read it together.

And I mean, look at her saying cheese for the camera. But that book, it won't be easily taken from her hands, not that I generally try to. Even the pictures appeal to her, which isn't her general "go to" in a book. She'll look but quickly pass them up. I've found her closely inspecting the art work in this book at times.

Which leads me to how much I love the art work. Kornacki really does an excellent job of drawing images appealing to all ages! Even my artist husband has a high appreciation for the workmanship throughout.

I am almost certain this book has made it's debut into our Christmas traditions for years to come. I'm not even sure I'll be allowed to stow it away after Christmas is passed.

And because I'm about honesty, as is the sponsoring company, I want you guys to know there was only one aspect of the book which slightly bothered me: if you're keen on historical accuracy, the three wise men didn't find Jesus until he was around two years of age. However, the book portrays the typical story we we hear where the shepherds and wise men find Jesus while he is a new born.

Other than that, I give this book a raving review from our household! I'm pretty sure many of you would love to get your hands on a copy.

Speaking of which, one of you can get your hands on a free copy by entering my giveaway!

I have one copy of The First Christmas Night to give away. The giveaway is open to US residents with a physical address (no P.O. boxes, sorry!) age 18 and up. It begins today, Tuesday, November 19, at 12 am CST, and will close on Monday, December 2, at 12 am CST. The only mandatory entry for the giveaway is to leave a blog comment; I would love if you'd answer this question: Do you have any Christmas Traditions you have carried over or started with your family? If so, what? The winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter. They will be announced in an addendum at the top of this post, as well as on the Rafflecopter form, within 48 hours of the giveaway's close. I will also contact them via e-mail. (Please ensure you use a valid, working e-mail address to enter with on the Rafflecopter form.) The winner will have 48 hours to contact me via e-mail at mylifestidbits@gmail.com to claim their prize. I will need the winners full name and physical  address to forward to giveaway sponsor so they can mail the winner their prize. For any other information regarding giveaways hosted on my blog, please visit the official giveaway page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."