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Christmas in the Barn: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids Hardcover – Illustrated, September 20, 2016

4.6 out of 5 stars 137 ratings

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From the bestselling author of classics like Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny comes a Christmas story sure to delight generations of new readers, reillustrated in 2016 by the beloved Llama Llama creator, Anna Dewdney.

In this reissued edition by Margaret Wise Brown, Christmas in the Barn tells a childlike interpretation of the Nativity story with all-new full-color illustrations from New York Times bestselling illustrator Anna Dewdney, creator of the Llama Llama series.

"Brown's tender, lyrical account of the Nativity has been reissued...with illustrations that expand the succinct text, giving a quiet sense of grandeur while at the same time making readers feel a part of the events. A lovely book for a new generation of readers," says School Library Journal.

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2—Originally published in 1952, with expertly crafted woodcuts by Barbara Cooney, then reissued in 2004 in a larger, full-color edition featuring bunny-strewn ink and watercolor art by Diane Goode, Brown's tender, lyrical account of the Nativity has been reissued once again, this time with illustrations by the late Dewdney of "Llama, Llama" fame. Using oil paint, pastel, pencil, and marker, the artist discards the two previous wintry depictions, providing a truer sense of place with appropriately spare flora set in a vast desert. The earthy pigments of the scenery and the animals are offset by a richly bright blue sky and colorful garments worn by Mary and the wise men. The animals are rendered with childlike accuracy and just a hint of cartoonish whimsy. The humans are a bit more realistic and in varying skin tones, leaving the ethnicity of the holy family open to interpretation. Multiple tableaus offer myriad details but are never too busy. They expand the succinct text, giving a quiet sense of grandeur while at the same time making readers feel a part of the events. VERDICT A lovely book for a new generation of readers.—Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library

Review

“Dewdney’s striking, mixed-media paintings have a loose, post-impressionistic flavor...Brown’s short, rhyming text is accessible and satisfying, with clever inclusions of well-known phrases from traditional Christmas carols.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 20, 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062379860
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062379863
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 8 years
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.1 x 0.5 x 9.1 inches
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 3
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ AD510L
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 137 ratings

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Margaret Wise Brown
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Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
137 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers love this Christmas book, with one mentioning it's a frequent bedtime story in their home. The edition features original illustrations that customers appreciate. The rhyme scheme receives mixed reactions, with several customers finding the rhymes awkward.

10 customers mention "Story quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers love the story of this Christmas book, describing it as beautiful and perfect for the holiday season, with one customer noting it's a frequent bedtime read in their home.

"A classic! I love Margaret Wise Brown's books! This one is beautiful and sweet. A hit with both the kids and myself!" Read more

"...It is a great story, highly recommend." Read more

"beautiful storyline and illustrations to begin learning about the meaning of the holiday. Perfect for our young grandchildren!" Read more

"...to children who's parents are not religious, and have it be just a nice story with no Biblical reference whatsoever, though my own children have..." Read more

7 customers mention "Illustrations"5 positive2 negative

Customers love the illustrations in this book, particularly noting the original artwork and beautiful pictures.

"A classic! I love Margaret Wise Brown's books! This one is beautiful and sweet. A hit with both the kids and myself!" Read more

"beautiful storyline and illustrations to begin learning about the meaning of the holiday. Perfect for our young grandchildren!" Read more

"...The illustrations are far from charming in my opinion. The people look sinister on one page and the faces actually look more deformed than sweet...." Read more

"...The illustrations are simple, but very beautifully done, and the girls love pointing out the animals..." Read more

6 customers mention "Rhyme scheme"2 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the rhyme scheme of the book, with several noting that the rhymes seemed awkward.

"...Wise Brown, I was really expecting so much more... the rhymes seemed awkward, it isn't really the story of the birth of Jesus, so much as the story..." Read more

"Love the author- and her simplistic writing style was consistent in this story of Christmas. Great story. New book. Worth every penny." Read more

"...What's not to like??? But I was disappointed. The rhyming is forced and awkward in places...." Read more

"Horrible pictures and forced rhymes. Wanted a simple nativity poem but this was bad and the pictures are even worse...." Read more

Burn this book
1 out of 5 stars
Burn this book
I hear there are earlier versions of this book. That's fine. This one seems like it was thrown together in about 15 minutes. Maybe they had a holiday quota to meet. I love Goodnight Moon, but this book shouldnt get a pass for being this awful just because MWB wrote other good ones. First off, the narrating voice is all over the place. Sometimes it rhymes, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it uses modern english, sometimes it uses archaic King James english. Sometimes the lines consist entirely of christmas carol lyrics which serve no desciptive purpose other than to tickle the ears of those who already know the story. Second, the book seems more concerned with the animals and the sounds they are making than it does with the baby, who is never even mentioned by name. Mary and Joseph just waltz into the barn like two homeless people who got lost. The wise men are mentioned only with a single line. They never interact with mary and joseph, and for all we know, never actually enter the barn. Third, "the ancient barn". The ancient barn, with its modern architecture of cut and milled lumber, and grain silos in the backround. This place looks like Michigan. This modern take does no justice to the original story, and a child reading it fresh wouldn't be able to understand what is actually happening. Two people walked into a barn, and there were animals. But at least they were all safe and warm. Goodnight Barn
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    A classic! I love Margaret Wise Brown's books! This one is beautiful and sweet. A hit with both the kids and myself!
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2018
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This was suggested to us by our Children's Ministry Group at church. It is a great story, highly recommend.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    beautiful storyline and illustrations to begin learning about the meaning of the holiday. Perfect for our young grandchildren!
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2011
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I have to say that when we first got this book last Christmas, I was very disappointed. From Margaret Wise Brown, I was really expecting so much more... the rhymes seemed awkward, it isn't really the story of the birth of Jesus, so much as the story of a random couple who had "lost their way" and ended up sleeping in a barn that night. And there isn't so much of an actual STORY to it at all, for that matter. Random kind of rhyming lines about the sounds that the animals make and everyone being together, safe, and warm in the 'ancient barn,' with absolutley NO explanation of who these people were or what they were doing there, and bits of various old Christmas carols thrown in. Aaaaand of course, we don't use words like oxen, cattle, lowed, and ass around her to describe animals or their sounds! It just wasn't the cut-and-dry for kids version of the nativity story that I was looking for.

    HOWEVER, my then 3-year old adored it from day one. Now she is 4, and both she and my 18 month old still really like this book. We've left it out all year, and it is a frequent bedtime story in our home. As time passed,I got over my initial disappointment, and have grown very fond of it myself. It's nice. It has a very warm and comforting feeling in the dozy way the words run. The illustrations are simple, but very beautifully done, and the girls love pointing out the animals (particularly the bunnies that seem to be watching the story unfold) on every page. The girls have learned all of the new words (always good), and it provides a nice loose frame that allows the parent to explain the true story of Christmas to their children - which is really how it should be, anyway. I DO love the bits of carols thrown in, and as my daughters learn those classics, they will be reminded of this book. I also have a small in-home daycare, and all of THOSE little ones like this book, too. I like that it's a vague enough story that I can read it to children who's parents are not religious, and have it be just a nice story with no Biblical reference whatsoever, though my own children have learned about who the illustrated characters represent, and why they are so important in our lives.

    So, all that said and one year later, I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone, regardless of religion, and think that if you give it a chance, you'll come to love it too!

    (I should also mention that to this day we've never read her book "Big Red Barn," so to us this was all new.)
    23 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Classic book! Love this edition with original illustrations.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Love the author- and her simplistic writing style was consistent in this story of Christmas. Great story. New book. Worth every penny.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2021
    The condition was fair. The spine was broken and there was no dust jacket. I didn't see it state that there was no dust jacket so that was disappointing.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Terry Ames
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2018
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    A great choice for over 5 year olds. A gentle story about the meaning of Christmas.
  • FJ Happiness
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2015
    An interesting take, but not the true story