The Friendly Animals - (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Friendly Animals: A Christmas Story is taken from a centuries-old folk song now brightly and gently illustrated. This traditional Christmas story is perfect to read to small children during the holidays to teach about the nativity and the heart-felt gifts the animals at the manger gave to baby Jesus, sharing their kindness and love.

Book Synopsis

"This appealing Christmas book features the verses of a folk song, written in medieval France, in which the animals in and around the stable in Bethlehem take turns telling their parts of the nativity story.... "--Booklist

A gentle retelling of the first Christmas through the perspective of the animals in the barn who offered their own gifts to the baby Jesus.

The Friendly Animals: A Christmas Story is taken from a centuries-old folk song now brightly and gently illustrated. This traditional Christmas story is perfect to read to small children during the holidays to teach about the nativity and the heart-felt gifts the animals at the manger gave to baby Jesus, sharing their kindness and love.

Joyful and sweetly illustrated, The Friendly Animals: A Christmas Story is perfect for those looking to teach little ones about the nativity.

Review Quotes

This appealing Christmas book features the verses of a folk song, written in medieval France, in which the animals in and around the stable in Bethlehem take turns telling their parts of the nativity story. Each beast (as they are traditionally referred to in the English translation of the carol) speaks in a four-line rhymed verse. The use of animal in this book requires the reader or singer to squeeze in two extra syllables, but the word is more familiar to young children than beast, which carries a somewhat different connotation today. The poem works well as a picture-book text, and reading it aloud makes it easy for the reader to pause and interact with children. On the other hand, hearing a picture book sung can be riveting for preschoolers. While the music isn't included in the book, it's readily available online. Gray's illustrations make good use of rounded shapes, rich colors, light, shadows, and textures to create cozy scenes with a sense of depth. A beautiful picture book to share with young children at Christmas.--Carolyn Phelan "Booklist"

About the Author

Born and raised in Sheffield, England, James Newman Gray studied illustration at Wolverhampton University after a childhood spent sketching and painting. He went on to have a long career as an in-house illustrator for several greeting card publishers, including Hallmark cards, working on branded characters and also on original illustration. Over the years, this taught him to develop many different styles and to work in many different media. Although a large part of James' illustrations are done digitally now, he still likes to do line-art in his sketchpad and get the paints out and make marks.