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Jesús, Mary, and Joseph
Dear God, It's me - Jesús. Mama said you'd never have any problem remembering me because I've got the same name as your son. Can you please help me get a part in our school Nativity play?
After Jesús finally lands a part as an innkeeper in his school's Nativity play, he asks God to help him be the best innkeeper ever. Day by day, he grows more and more confident in his role, but on opening night, he finds himself so swept up in this long ago world, that when Mary and Joseph ask him, Do you have any room at your inn? he comes up with his own answer, causing chaos on the stage.
After Jesús finally lands a part as an innkeeper in his school's Nativity play, he asks God to help him be the best innkeeper ever. Day by day, he grows more and more confident in his role, but on opening night, he finds himself so swept up in this long ago world, that when Mary and Joseph ask him, Do you have any room at your inn? he comes up with his own answer, causing chaos on the stage.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2021
1033 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen T. Pelley
13 books128 followersI was born in Glasgow, Scotland—a country famous for its heather dappled mountains, lochs, tartans, thistles, shaggy Highland cattle, sheep, bagpipes, castles, haggis, and of course, a veritable treasure chest of stories.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 11, 2021
Christmas is my favorite time of year. Watching little ones act out the Biblical Christmas story is enjoyable - you never know quite what to expect. Kathleen Pelley has captured the innocent heart attitude of many young children. The prayers of main character Jesús make up the majority of the text, showing children that we can talk to God about anything. The behavior of Jesús during the play is just precious and shows an attitude we should all have toward the needy in our midst. Dubravka Kolanovic created illustrations that are child-like and complement the text well. I think Jesús, Mary, and Joseph will become a Christmas favorite.
In my opinion, Jesús, Mary, and Joseph should have a spot in every K-12 Christian school library as well as church, classroom and family libraries.
This review was prepared in partnership with partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Kathleen T. Pelley. This is my honest review.
In my opinion, Jesús, Mary, and Joseph should have a spot in every K-12 Christian school library as well as church, classroom and family libraries.
This review was prepared in partnership with partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Kathleen T. Pelley. This is my honest review.
August 29, 2021
A fun and real-life example of a child's conversations with God. We learn about Jesús and his journey of being in the nativity play only through the "dear God" prayers he makes about his day or about the situations he's in. My daughter enjoyed it, I'm just not sure she fully understood the twist that Jesús added at the end.
The illustrations are cute and effective. I appreciate the child's voice and the child-like response he has when Joseph and Mary were looking for shelter. This is a cute book to have on hand during Advent and Christmas to be sure to focus on the true meaning of Christmas while also teaching your child how to converse with God through the example of someone their age.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The illustrations are cute and effective. I appreciate the child's voice and the child-like response he has when Joseph and Mary were looking for shelter. This is a cute book to have on hand during Advent and Christmas to be sure to focus on the true meaning of Christmas while also teaching your child how to converse with God through the example of someone their age.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 3, 2021
This charming children’s book is the story of a sweet little boy named Jesus. Each day he prays for God to help him. He wants to have a part in his school nativity play. His innocent prayers and concerns are precious. He asks for help in learning all of the lines for the play. He thanks God for his scratchy costume that was carefully made for him. There are some unexpected moments during the performance and Jesus is afraid that he did something wrong.
Parents will appreciate the heart and meaning of the book and children will love the whimsical illustrations and childlike language. It’s the perfect time of year to read this book to your children.
This book is posted in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Kathleen T. Pelley.
Parents will appreciate the heart and meaning of the book and children will love the whimsical illustrations and childlike language. It’s the perfect time of year to read this book to your children.
This book is posted in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Kathleen T. Pelley.
August 21, 2021
This is such a sweet book. It’s written in the form of prayers of little Jésus as he prepares for his big part as Innkeeper #2 in the Christmas pageant. There are so many Christmas-themed books for kids out there—most of them with the same old Santa-needs-my-help theme. But this one uses the story at the heart of Christmas in a fresh way and shows a character who turns to God in prayer with every joy and sorrow, naturally and faithfully. I love how he relates to all the different biblical characters. And the illustrations are perfect!
September 5, 2021
I enjoyed this book about a boy who gets the part of an innkeeper in a Christmas play. The main character is very wholesome and is surrounded by other kind characters (with the possible exception of the teacher, who is a little harsh when he messes up). This book teaches children that they can talk to God about anything that happens in their lives and ask Him for help. It also teaches strong community values. This would be a good holiday book for a family or classroom. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 4, 2021
A very cute little book with awesome illustrations. Showing children how to pray for God's help with the things in our lives. The little boy gets a part in a nativity play. God and his family help him with his anxiety.
My only issue. This book is for ages P -2. I'm not sure that age group has enough experience with putting on plays to understand what it all means. And I don't think older children would want to read this younger feeling book.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.
My only issue. This book is for ages P -2. I'm not sure that age group has enough experience with putting on plays to understand what it all means. And I don't think older children would want to read this younger feeling book.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.
September 26, 2021
Great story idea. But was unable to read very easy in its format. It kept ending halfway through a sentence. So i had to guess sometimes. Also some illustrations wouldve been nice
January 27, 2024
What do we do when we get our prayers answered? Pray some MORE! That's what Jesús discovered.
I have been choosing the most delightful children's books lately and I have yet to be disappointed. You CAN actually judge a book by its cover!
The colors of the cover of Jesús, Mary and Joseph are light and bright and the decision to use childlike drawings and handwriting give you a feeling of affinity and connection. That's exactly what you get when you read the book.
The points that stood out for me:
-The story shows instead of tells, the lesson that we should pray about everything and God will help us.
-Like his namesake Jesus, Jesús prayed about everything.
- It reminded me of the premise of my favorite book, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret.
Overall, it was heartwarming read and right on time for the upcoming season. Young readers will enjoy the illustrations. I thought the synopsis done as the School Nativity program with Jesús' side notes was a delightful touch. It set the tone for the reading experience.
My favorite line was, "Dear God, Today we learned a new word…"
I chuckled. You will have to read the book yourself to discover the new word learned.
This book would be a good tool for parents or Sunday school teachers to teach about the power of prayer.
Note:
I received an advance review copy at no cost to me and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I have been choosing the most delightful children's books lately and I have yet to be disappointed. You CAN actually judge a book by its cover!
The colors of the cover of Jesús, Mary and Joseph are light and bright and the decision to use childlike drawings and handwriting give you a feeling of affinity and connection. That's exactly what you get when you read the book.
The points that stood out for me:
-The story shows instead of tells, the lesson that we should pray about everything and God will help us.
-Like his namesake Jesus, Jesús prayed about everything.
- It reminded me of the premise of my favorite book, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret.
Overall, it was heartwarming read and right on time for the upcoming season. Young readers will enjoy the illustrations. I thought the synopsis done as the School Nativity program with Jesús' side notes was a delightful touch. It set the tone for the reading experience.
My favorite line was, "Dear God, Today we learned a new word…"
I chuckled. You will have to read the book yourself to discover the new word learned.
This book would be a good tool for parents or Sunday school teachers to teach about the power of prayer.
Note:
I received an advance review copy at no cost to me and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews