A really nice retelling of the Christmas story narrated by Mary, Joseph and Zechariah. ( )

My daughter recommended this to me. This is a pretty good read for Advent season! It's a middle grade novel version of the Nativity story, told from the perspectives of Joseph, Mary and Zachariah. It's pretty true to the biblical account of Jesus's birth, but also sparked some imagination on what the details would have been like. Joseph, Mary and Zachariah also frequently reminisce on Old Testament accounts of Moses, Ruth, Hannah, David and Elijah as part of their narration. Some of their reflection gave me insights I didn't have before of the Nativity's connection to Old Testament figures. (For example, Samuel prepared the way for David in a similar way as John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. ) The language of the book is pretty simple, which I appreciated, because I imagine Mary and Joseph, as young teenagers, would speak and think in that fashion. ( )