The King's Christmas List

This is a suprisingly terrific childrens book. I honestly enjoyed “The King’s Christmas List” (by Eldon Johnson) much more than I thought I would. I had selected “A Christmas Prayer” over this book a couple weeks ago because I was skeptical about this book. It turns out; both books had absolutely wonderful messages for the little ones. Where “A Christmas Prayer” is tailor-made for the younger children, “The King’s Christmas List” would probably be better suited for kids that can handle the simpler books and are ready to start with some more lengthy reading. While reading this book, I wondered if a younger child would be able to sit still long enough for this book. There are a few pages that have quite a bit of text on them for a typical childrens book. This is why I would recommend “The King’s Christmas List” for kids who can handle even the simplest reading on their own. As far as the illustrations, this is a very well drawn book. There is typically plenty of detailed illustration on each page – which helps when it comes to those text-heavy pages. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and the gifts we should be giving (and the gift we have received).


Note: I received this book for free through Thomas Nelson Publishers’ BookSneeze program.

A Christmas Prayer by Amy Parker

Let me start by saying: this is a GREAT children’s book! The message was pitch perfect with what you would want your child to be learning at Christmas time. The language was great. Not too much, but not too little. Also, it had good flow and rhymed really well, which is a plus for kids’ books. The first, and most instantly noticeable thing about this book is the binding. It is one of those books with the puffy covers, so it’s kind of soft on the outside. It’s a great touch for a children’s book. It also has the thick (kind of cardboard-like) pages. Which are great if you have kids that like to grab at the pages. They’ll have a tough time ripping those pages out. The illustrations are somewhat stylized. In some cases, this can be bad. In other cases, it’s good. This is one of those cases where it is good. The illustrations are done well and don’t distract from the words or the message of the book. Overall, I thought this was a great children’s book. This was the first children’s book I’ve received from the BookSneeze program through Thomas Nelson Publishers and I will definitely be selecting more. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with young children who want a book that highlights what we should really be thankful for at Christmas.