Guest Post by Nicola

Nicola is a UK-born (currently) Gospel Doctrine teacher, who lives in Australia. She likes sleeping when possible, and spending time at the beach, and is the mother of 7 children– with another on the way!

Now, if I’m being honest, I was a little put off by the title. I thought it sounded a little like it would contain yet another reprimand for not having enough ” Christ in Christmas” – you know the people that freely rebuke the buyers of Christmas trees, tinsel, cookies and presents and treat them as signs of apostasy? I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t at all preachy, in fact it was the opposite. (sample page here: Papas sample pages (1))I felt it was sincere and gentle and motivated by love. I realise, however,  that this title might make it more appealing to an LDS audience and that maybe I am in a minority of people who get overly sensitive about it around this time of year ?. Now for the rest of it:

This Christmas story is a wonderfully sweet rendition of a beloved volume of scripture being tenderly shared between a doting grandfather and his adoring granddaughter. My favourite part of the story was the ease with which the love for the Book of Mormon was conveyed across the pages by the grandfather. It was great to see a volume of scripture being revered and held dear by someone at Christmas rather than a few traditional verses of scripture.

I think the age readership for this book is accurate ( 3- 8 years). The cute and colourful illustrations will easily entice the younger children and the message within is simple enough for children in that age bracket to understand. Indeed, the charming artwork is colourful and heartwarming and the sentiment of each scene is captured beautifully by the artist.

I enjoyed this book as it stepped away from the traditional Christian Christmas  genre and comfortably made room for the embracing of the whole of the Book of Mormon whilst including the wonderfully familiar sights and smells that are essential to that special time of the year.

I would recommend that others buy this book and would feel comfortable reading it to my own children as it’s an easy place to start conversations with our little ones about the Book of Mormon and its place in our hearts and lives. It lends itself to further conversations about God, His prophets and their timeless example to us.

The Christmas setting means it will find itself being told and re- told year after year. What a special tool to be encourage us to share our testimonies with our loved ones! I would feel comfortable reading this story to my children and would recommend it to others with children/ grandchildren of the same age range. I would also encourage those serving in primary to become familiar with it as it’s a great tool for sharing the love of the Book of Mormon.

This is a part of the Exponent Book Review Series and Cyber Monday Giveaway. By making a thoughtful comment on this post, subscribing to the Exponent, or making a donation to Exponent II by sending a PayPal donation to [email protected], you will be entered into a drawing to win one of many books being reviewed! Check the intro post for information and terms. Entries accepted until the 5th of December 2015.