The Story of Christmas Story Book Set & Advent Calendar

I don't usually write reviews, especially not poor ones, but I was disappointed at the many variations from the Biblical story of Jesus' birth in these books. I read the other negative reviews, and was expecting (hoping) for a fun account of the nativity story, written with children in mind, and with added detail where detail is not given in the Bible. But these books changed parts of the story that ARE written clearly in the Bible, as well as embellishing to a level that I was not comfortable with. I'll attach pictures below.On the positive side, it is a neat little set, and I love the cute little books and they way they fit into the holder. And the price is great (it was around $10 for the "paperback" version, which I believe is the same as all the others - a paper and board book cover, with 24 small board books inside). So instead of returning it, I am choosing to use it as an advent "kit" and will be recovering the books with a more accurate children's version of the Nativity story.

Wonderful, interactive Advent calendar! This is an oversized, fold-out booklet (see picture next to a can, to see approximate size). In the center of the calendar, there are 24 separate little "books", that can actually be opened and read. Each book has its own little "place", and the books can be removed and replaced, and they won't fall out on their own. The illustrations in the books and on this calendar are gorgeous. I highly recommend this product. Please mark if you find my review helpful. Thank you so much!

This was a nice addition to our Advent wreath tradition this year with our three girls, ages 9, 7, and 3. All the kids actually paid attention to these stories and enjoyed the pictures, too. The books are not in order, much like any Advent calendar, which is frustrating to adults but the kids had fun finding the correct number for the day. The books are good quality and you can hang them on the Christmas tree after reading if you wish. The tabs that hold the books in get bent easily but that's how it is with any of these styles of books. We just cautioned our kids to be very gently and accepted the inevitable creases. We were still able to put them all back and have them stay there by the end of the season. As for the story, it is just that. A story. There are little inaccuracies here and there, but nothing significant that I feel detracts from the overall biblical Christmas story. Hopefully your children are getting to know the Christmas story from more than just this little display of books! It is more like any kids book or movie where they fill in with extra dialogue and such where the Bible doesn't necessarily say exactly that. Afterall, Joseph never said a word in the Bible but I've seen so many stories and movies where Joseph is the one asking for a place to stay and comforting Mary with his words. I wouldn't consider that anti-biblical. To each their own, though. We thought this book collection was nice with great illustrations and meaningful content. Our little Catholic kiddos loved them!

This product is well made and really fun and exciting for kids. Every day for advent, they get to open a tiny cardboard book. The books vary in size and each book tells a different part of the Christmas story.Most of the books are close to what is written in the Bible. There is some added information that could very well be from accounts of what it was like during the time period.The biggest discrepancy that I found was in the story of the wise men. The wise men did not arrive on the night of Christ's birth (Matthew 2). Their names are never given in the Bible, but they are named in these books. I read that for some these names are a tradition. Nevertheless, if you are wanting to teach your children the Christmas story with complete Biblical accuracy, these books add details that are not in the Bible.It was difficult telling my children that we wouldn't be using this calendar again. They really enjoyed it, but I explained to them the importance of not changing God's Word. It's my fault, too, for not reading the other reviews before buying this.

I really wished I would have read the other reviews before ordering. It's a shame I had to return, the book is really well done and very cute. However, I'm not sure which version of the Bible this Story of Christmas was taken from. The parts concerning the wisemen were way off and no where in the Bible does it mention the names of the wisemen. If you don't mind having someone add their input and adlib the Christmas story, then maybe this is for you.

Friends of ours gave us this years ago and it's a Christmas tradition we have loved. This is a set of 24 books that tell the story of Mary and Joseph's trip to Bethlehem, about the wise men, and about Christ's birth. One book is read per day starting on December 1st, leading up to Christmas Eve when the last (and largest) book is read. We let our two kids take turns each night picking out that day's book and placing it on the tree as an ornament after we've read it. When they were little, we'd read it to them. Now that they are older, the one whose turn it is reads the book out loud. We like it so much, when I found this on Amazon I purchased two to give to friends for next December.Like others have said, it's fair to warn that this doesn't follow the Bible account to the letter - there are definitely some liberties taken. It isn't anything offensive, I feel like, but I could see it bothering some people and this set would not be good for you if you prefer a purely scripture account. I do know there are a few parts that make me squirm a little because it isn't really what we believe. For those parts, we've taken that to be a teaching moment, using the stories as kind of a jumping off point to insert some of our personal beliefs. It's worked for us, leading to some interesting discussions with our kids. We've found it to be a way we can concentrate on Christ during the season, instead of Christmas trees, presents, and Santa. I'm excited to share these when December rolls around.

I love the idea behind this, but I wish they had stuck to the actual scriptures. Some things in this are completely made up. I still use it, but I have to tell my kids which are true and which are made up and we don't really know.

Was bought as an alternative to chocolate for my friends children who are religious! Aged 3, 5 and 8.Some parents don’t like children having a lot of chocolate so I decided to buy this advent calendars for the children to share! What an absolutely brilliant buy!Every evening the children would take it in turns to get the days book and the family would sit together read the story of the nativity and then hang the little book on the Christmas 🎄 tree!Also it’s reusable they can use this advent calendar every year! Just need to make sure the Christmas tree is up on the 1stDefinitely worth the money and lovely family gift! Bringing the true meaning of Christmas

The Story of Christmas helped get our children focussed on the story and meaning of Christmas this year. We do usually aim to get them an advent calendar that doesn't just supply chocolate or deliver pictures of snowmen, and this really bolstered that idea - the kids really looked forward to their turn to read out the day's story and hang it on the tree, and the books actually made great tree decorations.My only gripe (hence four stars rather than five) is that the story in the books was a little bit too creative in filling in the gaps in the gospel story - nothing that was "off message", but I'd have preferred a writing style that was clearer about which bits were made up. However, that's a personal preference - I'd still recommend this readily to anyone trying to keep the meaning of Christmas alive in their family.

I’m so pleased with this book, and hopefully my grandsons will love it too. Sturdily made, with 24 little books, all different sizes, which can be opened and read, then carefully stored for next year.

A lovely (reusable!) advent calendar, that goes through all the story of Christmas. The booklets are very short, which allows even a very young child to listen daily to each aspect, without losing interest. Booklets have a loop on them, which enables them to be hung on a Christmas tree once read - another great idea.

What a great idea for an advent calendar. Does not have chocolate and tells the story leading up to the birth of Jesus for a young child. My 4 year old looked forward to finding the right number and hearing a short story each evening.My only criticism would be the books are not laid out in any seemingly logical order.