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msjackieross's review against another edition
5.0
This was a cute picture book with a different take won an old classic. Reading via kinlde make sure to turn your screen for better reading. Artwork was cute and flowed well with the words.
elizabethferguson's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, thank you to Goodreads and Clare Johnson for the free copy!
The First Noel: A Tale of Friendship is a cute rendition of the traditional Christmas story but uses the friendship between a Wise Man’s daughter and the daughter of a shepherd to set the scene. The story is told in poetic form, which is typical of many picture books, and the gentle cadence of the lines makes for a good bedtime story.
The illustration style didn’t blow me away, but I did like that they imitated the look of a live performance. It was easy to imagine this poem being read aloud during a church Christmas program.
Although not entirely biblically accurate—the Wise Men didn’t come to see Jesus until he was about two years old—The First Noel is a good one to add to your child’s Christmas book repertoire.
The First Noel: A Tale of Friendship is a cute rendition of the traditional Christmas story but uses the friendship between a Wise Man’s daughter and the daughter of a shepherd to set the scene. The story is told in poetic form, which is typical of many picture books, and the gentle cadence of the lines makes for a good bedtime story.
The illustration style didn’t blow me away, but I did like that they imitated the look of a live performance. It was easy to imagine this poem being read aloud during a church Christmas program.
Although not entirely biblically accurate—the Wise Men didn’t come to see Jesus until he was about two years old—The First Noel is a good one to add to your child’s Christmas book repertoire.
fish3718's review against another edition
4.0
Clare Johnson’s tale of Jesus’ birth is beautifully illustrated. The book is a poetry in motion book. In the abstract of the story, there is a separate message of acceptance, social diversity, and love of your neighbors. This story is about a shepherd girl who loves someone above her social status. The lessons told throughout the story can be life lessons for the young and the young at heart. I enjoyed this tale of The First Noel and I recommend it for all ages.
bwagner's review against another edition
5.0
This is a Christmas story that I loved. It is a great children's story that is well illustrated. The pictures tell the story as well as being brightly covered. It tells the story of friendship. It teaches your children about judgement and that it doesn’t matter your place in society, we are all the same. I would highly recommend it for any child at Christmas time. It is a great Christmas story that everyone would love.
angelahayes's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars
The First Noel A Tale of Friendship by Clare Johnson is a Christian children’s story about friendship, love, values, acceptance, lesson teaching, and more. It is told in the form of a poem, which also weaves the story of the birth of Jesus. The story begins when the daughter of a Wiseman meets a poor shepherd girl- before evolving into the Nativity story.
When I saw this book show up on my recommended book feed, and with Christmas approaching, I immediately though that this would be a great story to read to my 4 year old grandson- so I grabbed a copy and sat him down to read it.
While I did think the premise was quite clever and interesting, I felt that the story would probably be best enjoyed by older children, as it lacked the attention grabbing details that most young children need and enjoy having in their stories. My grandson loves story time, but only a page into the book and his attention was wandering, already asking for other books. We persevered, but he really wasn’t that interested in it. I do think that with just a little tweaking this story could be fabulous.
The pictures are quite well done, done in a computer graphics kind of style, but were not as whimsical and ‘child-friendly’ as I had hoped for.
The author explains that the story/poem was originally written as a dance production before becoming a picture book- so I would definitely be interested in seeing the stage production, as maybe the story better translates to dance.
Thank you, Clare Johnson!
The First Noel A Tale of Friendship by Clare Johnson is a Christian children’s story about friendship, love, values, acceptance, lesson teaching, and more. It is told in the form of a poem, which also weaves the story of the birth of Jesus. The story begins when the daughter of a Wiseman meets a poor shepherd girl- before evolving into the Nativity story.
When I saw this book show up on my recommended book feed, and with Christmas approaching, I immediately though that this would be a great story to read to my 4 year old grandson- so I grabbed a copy and sat him down to read it.
While I did think the premise was quite clever and interesting, I felt that the story would probably be best enjoyed by older children, as it lacked the attention grabbing details that most young children need and enjoy having in their stories. My grandson loves story time, but only a page into the book and his attention was wandering, already asking for other books. We persevered, but he really wasn’t that interested in it. I do think that with just a little tweaking this story could be fabulous.
The pictures are quite well done, done in a computer graphics kind of style, but were not as whimsical and ‘child-friendly’ as I had hoped for.
The author explains that the story/poem was originally written as a dance production before becoming a picture book- so I would definitely be interested in seeing the stage production, as maybe the story better translates to dance.
Thank you, Clare Johnson!
jennadb's review against another edition
4.0
The First Noel: A Tale of Friendship by Clare Johnson is a family/children’s story and a nice tale to share with them in the Christmas spirit. It is a whimsical tale of a friendship which starts in a Nativity setting of the birth of baby Jesus. Clare states the narrative was born from a ballet production and is a story to teach the lessons of friendship and love, to stand up for what you believe in even though others may not agree or is not the norm. The story structure is told in poem format which took me a while to settle into. The illustrations are colourful and depict the dancing throughout the story.
hncald78's review against another edition
5.0
This beautiful tale is right on point for the holiday season. I loved the illustrations and loved being able to share the story with my children and watching them engage with the beautiful visuals. This is a timeless story appropriate for any time of year but especially one I will treasure sharing multiple times leading up to Christmas.
bookswithrochelle's review against another edition
3.0
This children book was an interesting, quick read. I believe this book would be better to read if you purchase the real book rather than an e-book. The themes and writing style was intriguing for my younger sister. However, it seems like it would be better for older children rather those that are younger. Overall, it was a great Christmas story and very joyful.
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