What do you think?
Rate this book
The Imagination Station #12
Danger on a Silent Night
Beth and Patrick travel to the Holy Land. Patrick joins the wise men as they travel toward Jerusalem. Beth winds up at Herod's palace and sees the king's reaction when he finds out about the newly born King of the Jews. The cousins meet up at the palace. Devout Simeon tells them where they can find the baby Jesus. Beth and Patrick set out with the wise men only to discover they've been followed by one of Herod's soldiers. Knowing that death is in store for the Baby Jesus if the soldier finds Him, Beth and Patrick carry out a plan to keep the baby safe.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2013
37 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Marianne Hering
102 books43 followersMarianne Hering is a prolific writer, having written hundreds of articles and a number of books for children and parents. For nine years she worked for several magazines in Focus on the Family’s periodicals department and became the editor of Clubhouse, a Focus on the Family children’s magazine with a circulation of more than 100,000.
As a book developer for Focus on the Family, she and coauthor / creative director Paul McCusker launched the Adventures in Odyssey book series The Imagination Station in 2010. Currently the series includes 19 books, with two more contracted for 2017 release. Paul bowed out of his role in 2015 to pursue other creative avenues. The combined sales are more than 450,000.
Currently Marianne is a freelance writer taking assignments. She and her husband live in Colorado with their twin sons.
As a book developer for Focus on the Family, she and coauthor / creative director Paul McCusker launched the Adventures in Odyssey book series The Imagination Station in 2010. Currently the series includes 19 books, with two more contracted for 2017 release. Paul bowed out of his role in 2015 to pursue other creative avenues. The combined sales are more than 450,000.
Currently Marianne is a freelance writer taking assignments. She and her husband live in Colorado with their twin sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 21, 2025
A fun children's book!
It subverted several traditions, which always excites me, and it seemed well researched!
It subverted several traditions, which always excites me, and it seemed well researched!
February 11, 2020
Good way for kids to see past uninformed Christmas traditions, appreciate the complexity of events surrounding Christ's birth, and understand better what was happening in the world during Bible times.
However, I do think the altered detail of Herod getting info from the boy could've been avoided--maybe have his father's group return as Herod begins to question him. The best historical fiction doesn't need to change real events. Making such changes implies that real life, in this case Scripture itself, is not quite exciting or engaging enough. And that's not a message I want to give to my kids.
However, I do think the altered detail of Herod getting info from the boy could've been avoided--maybe have his father's group return as Herod begins to question him. The best historical fiction doesn't need to change real events. Making such changes implies that real life, in this case Scripture itself, is not quite exciting or engaging enough. And that's not a message I want to give to my kids.
August 20, 2022
Patrick and Beth travel back in time to the birth of Jesus to learn about gift-giving. They meet up with a caravan of magi on their way to see King Herod. Since King Herod wants to kill the infant king, they must hurry to find him first.
This is a nice series to teach young children about stories in the Bible. It's similar to the Magic Treehouse series, but not quite as well-written.
This is a nice series to teach young children about stories in the Bible. It's similar to the Magic Treehouse series, but not quite as well-written.
January 17, 2026
I liked the part when Patrick threw powder on to the ground in front of Brutus and it exploded! 💥🐪🎁
The story of the wise men journeying to Bethlehem was really well presented. At the end the characters also take time to talk about what we know to be true and what we dont’t know but can imagine. -Mom’s review
The story of the wise men journeying to Bethlehem was really well presented. At the end the characters also take time to talk about what we know to be true and what we dont’t know but can imagine. -Mom’s review
January 14, 2021
Interesting perspective of the Christmas story.
August 1, 2021
Turtle just re-read this series at her own request. She said: great! Return to library.
January 25, 2024
The cousins, Patrick and Beth, go back in time to when Jesus was born. They figure out that King Herod is lying about wanting to meet Jesus. He wants to kill Him!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2024
Read with my 7 year old and he loved it! Really helped put the Christmas story into perspective.
November 21, 2025
Perfect for Christmas
April 28, 2016
I was excited to read this book because I knew it would bring a unique twist into the Christmas story of Jesus' birth. This book does an excellent job in showing young kids the Biblical account, for example, the Bible says nothing about there being only 3 wise men. We get these ideas from tradition and songs yet many of the things are made up. Beth learns more about gift giving and what it should mean during the holidays. Patrick learns more about the Biblical story and they both get an insider look into Herod's palace. The point of view in this book is from the Wise Men and Herod's palace.
This is a great book for any time of year and perfect for young children who are curious about the birth of Jesus.
Highly recommend five stars!
Check out Tyndale Publishing to find more books in this series!
This is a great book for any time of year and perfect for young children who are curious about the birth of Jesus.
Highly recommend five stars!
Check out Tyndale Publishing to find more books in this series!
December 9, 2014
Good retelling with an important message
I was quite nervous going into this book & I was unimpressed with Showdown with the Shepherd - the other retold Bible story for AIO Imagination Station. In that story I felt that too many liberties had been taken & was concerned about what might be done to the birth of Jesus.
The book doesn't actually take place when Jesus is born (as the title seems to imply) but when the wise men arrive a little later.
I was very pleased with how the story was handled and that giving to the poor and your family are acceptable & commendable ways to celebrate Jesus & share his love.
To my surprise, this is one of the best books in the series.
The larger than usual font, nice margins, simple language, and oversized illustrations make this book (& series) perfect for young readers. Recommend.
I was quite nervous going into this book & I was unimpressed with Showdown with the Shepherd - the other retold Bible story for AIO Imagination Station. In that story I felt that too many liberties had been taken & was concerned about what might be done to the birth of Jesus.
The book doesn't actually take place when Jesus is born (as the title seems to imply) but when the wise men arrive a little later.
I was very pleased with how the story was handled and that giving to the poor and your family are acceptable & commendable ways to celebrate Jesus & share his love.
To my surprise, this is one of the best books in the series.
The larger than usual font, nice margins, simple language, and oversized illustrations make this book (& series) perfect for young readers. Recommend.
July 17, 2014
Danger on a Silent Night takes Beth and Patrick to the Holy Land to learn about the birth of Jesus. Patrick travels with the wise men to Jerusalem in search of the newborn King. Beth finds herself in Herod’s castle and witnesses King Herod’s reaction when he hears of the King of the Jews’ birth. When the cousins find each other at Herod’s palace, they set out together to find Baby Jesus and meet Simeon where he tells them where to find Him. However, the cousins discover that they are being followed by a soldier. Is the soldier interested in finding Jesus to worship Him or does he have evil intentions in mind?
August 6, 2014
Great book! In this story Beth and Patrick travel to the King’s palace in Jerusalem where Judith meets Beth and asks her for help with her musical instruments. Meanwhile Patrick meets a young man whose father is king of the wise men who have been following a star and are stopping in the royal palace at Jerusalem to ask directions for the newborn King of the Jews. Apellus, the son of one wise man, showed Patrick the trick of creating smoke. Will Patrick find Beth? Who helps Beth escape King Herod’s palace and look for the baby Jesus? What does Judith give Beth to give to the baby?
January 22, 2016
This was another of my 4th Grader's favorites of this series, and an appropriate one to read for the Christmas season. It's about on par with Max Lucado's "The Crippled Lamb" or other fictional works that mix fiction with Biblical truth. Usually, I like to be careful with those because I want the kids to realize which part is truth and which part is fiction. I also get a little wary if any of the characters try to take center stage away from Jesus. This one was well done, though.
June 3, 2014
My favorite Imagination Station book so far... and my kids loved it, too. It was the perfect thing to read the week before Christmas. Reading it aloud before bed to my 4 kiddos was nice, and it was a nice, new and different way to tell the Christmas story. It felt like we were there as Beth was holding and playing with baby Jesus. It touched all of our hearts.
September 1, 2014
Patrick and Beth are off to the Holy Land. This adventure takes place during the first Christmas. It was an exciting way to view this Biblical story. I thought it was also a good way to teach our children that Christmas isn't about how much you spend on peoples gifts but about loving them and thinking about them. We will be reading this again around the holidays!
June 28, 2014
This is a birth of Christ adventure that examines gift-giving vs. helping the poor. It is fast-paced & deals with common misconceptions about the Nativity story. It also talks of earning money for gifts or making gifts. We are taught that we can help the poor & show our love to family too.
July 10, 2014
Danger on a Silent Night takes Patrick and Beth on an extra special adventure. This time they back to the time of when Jesus was born. They also learn a lesson of the true meaning of Christmas. A great read for all ages - young or old.
5 stars.
5 stars.
August 4, 2014
Christmas gifts. Patrick and Beth have a dilemma about Christmas gifts so Whit sends them on an adventure to learn about the first Christmas gifts. The cousins learn firsthand about smelly, spitting camels, the cruelty of King Harod and about the giving of gifts. Awesome book!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews