Christmas Story: Tonight in the Palace (Lost Sheep Series)

Nice Christmas book for children of a range of ages. It is a different Christmas book to the traditional nativity story. There are a couple of sentences for each double page, so is suitable for young kids but the messages are ones that older kids would really appreciate too. The story is written by an Aussie. The pictures are very simple but bright and colourful. In short, this books talks about what you might expect the arrival of a King to be like and then the reality of Jesus' birth in a stable. It is a story that can grow with the child. This books is part of the Lost Sheep series and within several books of this series there is a character called Cecil the sheep who is also part of this story.

This is a fun, creative take on part of the Christmas story, told from the perspective of Cecil the sheep. It certainly doesn't aim to retell the events of the Christmas story, but rather focuses on the unexpectedness of a baby king being born in a stable. The concepts (what the sheep expected compared to the reality) were a bit confusing for my 3 yo at this stage but it did open up conversation. I would, however, recommend this book for 5-10yo.

This is another fun, brightly illustrated Christmas story from the Lost Sheep series. Told in rhyme and reintroducing Cecil the sheep, it tells the Christmas story by picturing and dialogueing contrasting expectations of what it means when the King is born. It stimulates great discussion with kids.

This is a fun and fresh take on the birth of Jesus from the creative brains at 'Lost Sheep Resources'. I love the creativity with which the story is told and the fun rhyming text that kids will enjoy. I think the fact that the book emphasises what a king's birth SHOULD be like for 8 pages and then only explains what the King's birth WAS like for 1 short page, does make the book a bit tricky for younger ones. The book looks like it is aimed for 3-5 year olds, but I think the message would be better appreciated by 5-8 year olds. There is a fabulous website where you can pre-read this book and all the others in the series.

Told in delightful rhyme, this is the Christmas story told by Cecil and his sheep friends. After being woken by an angel telling them to get to Bethlehem to see the new king, they have all sorts of ideas about what they'll find there - after all, everyone knows how kings live, the lavish food they eat and the wonderful entertainment they provide. With great excitement they leave, only to find a king far different than they expected. It's great fun to read but also quite thought provoking in its simplicity. Highly recommend this book!