Joy to the World: Tomie's Christmas Stories

We love Tomie dePaolo. We love that his gives the Catholic vantage point without being offensive to Protestants. This is a compilation of stories, with some Christmas songs. Our kids only get three Christmas gifts (Jesus only got three gifts, and it is His birthday, after all!). One gift is "gold"--more valuable. One is "Frankincense"--holy gift. One is "myrrh"--for the body. I got this for my son for his "Frankincense" gift. However, I also use it to read to my Faith Formation students. You can never go wrong with Tomie dePaolo books!

The book jacket states that Christmas is Tomie dePaola's favorite holiday, and this collection of stories and carols is proof. The three stories, The Night of Las Posadas, The Story of the Three Wise Kings, and The Legend of the Poinsettia, have been previously published, but if you don't own them already, the opportunity to buy all three is a bargain. The first and last stories blend legend with real life stories of Hispanic Catholics, but all show dePaola's love for his Catholic faith. The carols are "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Silent Night," "The First Noel," "Away in a Manger," and "Joy to the World." Each includes music, words, and illustrations. We are already dePaola fans, but this book gave us more to love. Thanks Tomie!

This is a collection of previously published single-story books, at least two of which are now out of print. In between the stories are nice arrangements of Christmas carols. The Posada story is original, and very moving, and tells us about traditions in Mexican culture. The miracle of the first poinsettia is also a Mexican legend and is really compelling. The three wise men seem an odd match for the other Mexican cultural stories, but it is beautifully illustrated and pretty close to the original text.

I got the paperback and it has thick wonderful pages. Great illustrations. Beautiful stories. Great book for your Christmas library.

I loved this sweet Christmas book - a nice addition to our family’s collection! Interesting stories and beautiful illustrations!

This was the perfect book collection for a Catholic household. I especially loved the story of the 3 wise men. It was perfect to read for Epiphany

Beautiful and well written as all his books are. 3 and 5 yo love it

Lovely book. It is a keeper.

My kids enjoyed this book immensely. We enjoyed learning about a different culture than us. Great addition to our Christmas book collection!

Belíssmo livro com 3 histórias natalinas para cristãos católicos, além de conter partituras e letras de algumas tradicionais "Christmas Carols". Comprei para dar de presente e achei ótimo o custo-benefício!