Review: Christmas Blessings (Really Woolly) by Bonnie Rickner Jensen Illustrated by Donna Chapman

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

Really Wolly

by Bonnie Ricker Jensen
and DaySpring

Illustrated by Donna Chapman

Thomas Nelson

Board Book / Holiday

40 pages

ages 3 and up

Enjoy the blessings of Christmas!

Christmastime is full of blessings, and the Really Woolly characters celebrate every part of the season—from time with family and friends, to sledding and decorating, to the joy of giving to others.

Cuddle up close with your little one, and enjoy the precious rhymes, meaningful Bible verses, simple prayers, and endearing illustrations that teach about the greatest Christmas gift of all—the birth of Jesus.

MY TIDBITS

The warmth behind Christmas comes across through lovely, sweet rhymes.

The stability and care given into the making of this book is clear the minute it hits the hands. It's stable for tiny fingers, just the right size for toddlers to carry around and flip through, and even has a softness to the cover to give a gentle, cuddly feeling. This board book was made for kids and will hold up to them.

The first page contains a short, full of Christmas senses, note for parents, which explains the intent of these pages: to cuddle, have happy hearts and read versus and prayers together. That's exactly what this book offers, too. Every two-page spread contains a short title and then a short summary of a Bible verse. Then follows two versus of a simple poem, which brings over the sense behind the verse in a very basic and easy way for young listeners to understand and relate to. At the end is a one line prayer which relates to the reading.

The illustrations are simple, colorful and bring across exactly what is being talked about. Of course, Woolly and his/her friends are always present.

It's a sweet book, which is great for parents and grandparents to use before the holidays. The first few pages concentrate on the story of Jesus' birth. After this the tone changes, and the rest of the book hits various activities surrounding Christmas and how they relate to our Christian lives and happy hearts. I was a little disappointed by some of the verse summaries, however. While some are well done, others don't match up well with the actual meaning of the verse in the Bible. There are highlighted words in every other line of the poems, which could have been really clever if they had a purpose other than being colorful and bold.

In general, this is a cute collection of poems and prayers, which ring in Christmas nicely with very young listeners and brings over the heart of the holiday.

I received a complimentary copy from Booklook Bloggers.