Who Was Born This Special Day?

ANNOTATION

Not the lamb or the goat or the mule or the dove was born on the first Christmas long ago, but a special child was.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Someone was born on this magical day. It was not the lamb, or any of the other manger animals. It was not the big cedar tree or the tiny stone. Who could it have been?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A narrator searches through pasture and stable seeking the creature "born on this special day." In a starred review, PW wrote, "Young readers will be eager to give their final answer to the query in this gentle Christmas poem cum guessing game. Gore's shadowed acrylics sustain a sense of mystery and wonder." Ages 3-6. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

The question, "Who was born this special day?" is asked of many creatures—the lamb, the goat, the donkey, even a stone. They reply that it was not they. Finally, it is the child in the manger who was born this special day. The paintings are misty, suffused with light, mostly in blue. The book would be an excellent bedtime story during the Christmas season, as the overall tone is peaceful and the repetition is soothing. 2000, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 3 to 6. Reviewer: Dr. Judy Rowen

Kirkus Reviews

In time for the Christmas season, a brief picture-book poem from Bunting, for very young Christian listeners who will enjoy guessing: "Who was born on this special day?" The narrator questions the lamb, then the goat, calf, donkey, dove, cedar tree, and stone—and each provides an answer according to its nature. For example, lamb says: "I was born back in early May / when the breezes of spring chased winter away." "It was not the lamb." And the cedar tree, when asked: "Is it your birthday, cedar tree?" Responds: "No, not mine. / When I was a seedling floating in space, a wandering wind dropped me here in this place." "It was not the tree." The rhyming couplets appear in white italics, superimposed on soft and fuzzy, blue-and-white acrylic paintings that show cuddly, curly-coated, big-eyed animals, twinkling stars, and fuzzy angels gliding through the night, culminating with the child Jesus in the manger. Pictures are best viewed from a distance. Sweet, but not essential. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Burrowes, Adjoa J. GRANDMA'S PURPLE FLOWERS Illus. by the author Lee & Low (32 pp.) Oct. 2000