The Three Wise Guys

Tales from the Back Pew

by Mike Thaler, Jared Lee (Illustrator)

The only part I want in the Christmas play is no part. My teacher says I’m to be a wise guy on stage. The only stage I want to be on … is the first stage out of town …

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Mike Thaler, born in Los Angeles, started his professional career drawing cartoons for adults. A children's book editor saw one of his cartoon stories in a national magazine and encouraged Mike to try writing for children. His first attempt met with success, and "The Magic Boy" was published in 1961.

Mike has produced over 220 published books and is known as “America’s Riddle King.” He has also been called “The Court Jester of Children’s Literature.”

Mike Thaler lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Patty. He gladly welcomes all invitations to do church and school programs, and other book events.

Mike travels each year throughout the world helping children and teachers create their own stories, riddles, and books. He writes and teaches with creativity, inspiring his audiences with a love of language.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute and somewhat humorous interpretation of the story of the 3 wise men from a child's point of view.

The illustrations are detailed and add a unique and fun flair of their own to the narrative.

Humor is interspersed throughout this quick read which can be shared with most age groups.

Overall, a cute read.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Christmas story—but with puns! One kid does not want to be in the Christmas pageant. A part from the play? Sure he'd like to be apart from it. But he is forced to go along with it and discovers a new take on the classic story. Maybe being a wise guy isn't so bad.

Not quite the Worst Christmas Pageant Ever, this silly picture book pokes fun at a few traditions that may have lost their meaning and shows Christmas through the eyes of a skeptical child. It's pretty fun.

[Decio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun and comedic story about three boys doing a school pagent. It maintins its humor and the perspective of a young boy while preserving respect for Christ. The child listening or reading needs to know well the story of Jesus before reading this book so that both plot and humor, make sense.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This picture book presents a comic retelling of the story of the nativity of Jesus from the Three Wise Men's perspective.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was provided a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Mike Thaler and Jared Lee have done it again; this time with a twist on the classic tale of the three wise men who set off from the east to find Jesus. The Three Wise Guys is part of the Tales From the Back Pew Series and is another hilarious story with plays on words and the real meaning behind Christmas.

These books are such fun to read, not only for the actual text, but also for the cartoon-like illustrations, which contain text spoken by the characters. King Hair-Odd doesn't want any competition and is so obsessed with it he won't even allow a Burger King in Jerusalem! Not to fear though, the real meaning of Christmas, that Jesus is the light of the world, makes it through and kids will love this book.

You can read my full review of this book at Examiner.com where I write a column about Christian fiction.



http://www.examiner.com/christian-fic...