Itsy Bitsy Christmas: A Reimagined Nativity Story for Advent and Christmas

by Max Lucado

New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado brings the Christmas message of Jesus’ birth to young children in this Christmas story of God’s love for everyone, even the littlest of His creation. Itsy Bitsy Christmas is a true nativity story reimagined in a fictional narrative through the eyes of two mice.

When Itsy and Bitsy, two charming little mice, hear that a King is coming to Bethlehem, they set off with great enthusiasm to find Him. Along the way, others discourage them saying they are too little and unimportant for any king. Just when Itsy and Bitsy begin to believe they really aren't big enough for the new King, they learn that Christ the King has indeed come for everyone.

With this Advent board book, 2 to 4-year-olds will

• understand God's great love
• know that He sent His Son for all of us, little or big, young or old
• learn that faith is believing before seeing
• see that Jesus is found in the most unlikely places 

Itsy Bitsy Christmas features

• a beautiful cover die-cut in the shape of a stable and embellished with festive foil
• durable board pages perfect for tiny hands

This encouraging book is a great faith-building Advent gift or Christmas morning surprise.

• ISBN10: 0718088875
• ISBN13: 9780718088873
• Publish Date: 20 October 2016 (first published 24 September 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tommy Nelson
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 26
• Language: English

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

I have to start with a confession: I tend to be a bit distrustful (even cynical) when it comes to books marketed as "Christian." I usually do a ton of research beforehand, but I took a chance when I entered MeghanTucker.com's giveaway of Itsy Bitsy Christmas, a new children's book by Max Lucado.

I was very pleasantly surprised! This story gives children the most basic message of Christmas: "God sent Jesus for us all." Period. Its simplicity makes Itsy Bitsy Christmas a truly ecumenical book (says this progressive/moderate-to-liberal Christian).

This is probably as close as a Christian author can get to not having a denominational leaning, and I so appreciate that in a children's book. The most direct theological statement in the entire story is: "God sent [Jesus] to love us, help us, and save us." Mary and Joseph make an appearance, but they are not named, and there's no story of Jesus's birth. Instead, the book focuses on the animals in the stable (two mice in particular) and their quest to find out who is the king who has come to town, and why he would bother with their seemingly insignificant little village.

It's sweet, it's funny, and Bruno Merz's illustrations are incredibly cute. Geared for ages 2-7, this was a huge hit with my 4-year-old! I'm sure we'll be reading this one often during the Advent/Christmas season.