AN ANGEL CAME TO NAZARETH

This traditional retelling of the Nativity story uses the device of an angel announcing to four beasts of burden and four travelers that one of them will carry “the greatest of them all” on their journey from Nazareth. Each pair is introduced and then moves on toward Bethlehem, with the donkey carrying Mary, who is presented as carrying the greatest burden. The structure of the rhyming text is rather old-fashioned, often using unfamiliar grammatical structures in order to fit the rhyme scheme, and the text itself is sometimes a bit sing-song rather than poetic. Kneen’s watercolor-and-gouache illustrations have a greeting-card prettiness, using patterned borders and arched framing devices that suggest stained-glass windows. The card-stock pages are embossed with textured details and touches of sparkling gold for halos, crowns and the star, also seen in the gold lettering of the title on the cover. The final spread is wordless, with three arched sections creating an elaborate Nativity scene set against a startling, star-spangled sky in shades of red. (Picture book. 4-7)