This book is big, it’s bright, it’s shiny and it looks wonderfully Christmassy. It’s a great price, at only £7.99 it’s a lot of story for your pence. A storyteller by trade, Bob Hartman has compiled lots of Christmas stories in one volume. Including, most importantly, the nativity story but also including stories and folktales from all over the world.

Contained in three sections, Christmas stories from the Bible, Stories about Christmas Traditions and Christmas Tales and Legends, this book is packed with thirty eight stories, two of whom written by Bob Hartman himself. Any child would love this book, and no adult could fail to get into the Christmas spirit. Find out about the very first tinsel in a story from the Ukraine, learn about the littlest Camel in a Turkish story, revisit the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus in a lively and sensitive account.

What did you like about it?

Gorgeous and colourful pictures, wonderfully written stories, this book is a Christmas must have. As a storyteller has compiled these stories, they are immensely readable and lively and keep the attention of even the youngest children. The stories are of an ideal length for bedtime reading. I also liked the fact that he had included stories from around the world as well as those from this country.

What didn't you like?

Nothing.

What will you still remember a year from now?

Well, this book will be making a yearly appearance in this house so anything I’ve forgotten, I will soon be reminded of!

Who would you recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to anyone with children or grandchildren. Anyone looking for a Christmas present for a child they know.

Can you give us a couple of good quotes from the book?

The shepherds leaped to their feet and went to Bethlehem. There they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby in the manger. And when they described what they had seen – to the innkeeper and his wife and anyone else who would listen – everyone wondered and was amazed. Everyone but Mary, that is, who nodded ad smiled as if she had expected just this sort of thing to happen.

When the man had gone and it was dark again, the spiders crawled out from their hiding place. They looked up at the tree, and at their web, now glistening like silver. ‘It’s beautiful!’ said Mr Spider. ‘A wonder!’ said Mrs Spider in return. And some say that’s how the very first tinsel came to be!

review by Hilary