Busy Nativity ill. by Emily Bolam

Busy Book series. Campbell Books, 2017. ISBN 9781509828951
(Age: 2-4) Themes: Nativity, Board Book, Interactive Book, Rhyme. This is one of the Busy Book series (comprising more than 20 titles) that includes Busy Park, Busy Baking and Busy Fire Station. Each book contains push and pull tabs and is composed of very sturdy board pages. The tabs and pull-outs are equally robust. Each page contains lots of detail, thereby providing opportunities for children to ask questions, make observations and discuss what they notice. There are also simple questions (e.g., "Who is on the donkey?") to stimulate discussion between reader and child.
The text is very short, with a simple rhyming narration of the first Christmas (e.g., "Sweet baby Jesus was born that night. As angels appeared and a star so bright"). It tells of the birth of baby Jesus but does not go into the meaning of Christmas or why his birth is so celebrated. In fact, God is not mentioned at all.
The illustrations are colourful and depict a happy, all-smiling world. There are lots of animals for young ones to point out and name.
This is a joyful first introduction to the Nativity story that will even engage busy toddlers with short attention spans.
Nicole Nelson