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The Lion, The Unicorn and Me by Jeanette Winterson (3-Nov-2011) Paperback
In Jeanette Winterson's beautifully evocative retelling of the story of the very first Christmas, the humble donkey is chosen amongst all the other animals, including the kingly lion and the proud unicorn. As his journey unfolds, he is touched by the magic and mystery of the Nativity. Stunning illustrations by Rosalind Macurrach and twinkling gold detail make this the perfect Christmas book.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2009
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473 people want to read
About the author
Jeanette Winterson
122 books7,624 followersNovelist Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester, England in 1959. She was adopted and brought up in Accrington, Lancashire, in the north of England. Her strict Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing provides the background to her acclaimed first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, published in 1985. She graduated from St Catherine's College, Oxford, and moved to London where she worked as an assistant editor at Pandora Press.
One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.
She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.
Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.
One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.
She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.
Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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December 26, 2024
As I will read literally anything Jeanette Winterson writes and am always eager to bask in the beauty of their prose, I was thrilled to discover the picture book The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me. It is Winterson’s nativity story, told from the perspective of a lowly donkey who is chosen by an angel to carry the newborn Jesus on his return journey, and it makes for a lovely Christmas read. The story first appeared as text only in the collection Christmas Days, though it is brought to life and greatly enhanced through Rosalind MacCurrach’s lovely illustrations. Charming, magical, and full of the soothing writing one would expect from the great Winterson, this is a delightful holiday story that made for a perfect read while snowed in from the current Christmas Eve blizzard fussing about outside my window.
The Lion, The Unicorn, and the Donkey as illustrated by Rosalind MacCurrach
This is short and sweet, and while it is a bit text heavy with a tale that might go above the heads of younger listeners, it has enough magic for them to endure through it and still enjoy the cute story. Winterson is a huge fan of Christmas and while there is a lot of organized religion trauma from their upbringing, Winterson always manages to unlock the magical spirit of the season in whimsical ways that explore the joy and the mystery of the season. I appreciated the artwork here as it presents Mary and Joseph with more accurate dark skin instead of the pasty white folks that used to be the staple of nativity illustrations in my childhood, and I very much enjoyed that the angel is depicted with bright, flowing red hair. Fans of Winterson’s earlier novels will recognize the significance as red hair is a common motif for the important characters or love interests in their stories. It is short and cute, with plenty of magic such as the donkey being touched by an angel to later discover ‘my muzzle had turned as gold as a trumpet that proclaims another world.’
In Christmas Days, Winterson writes that the text for this story was written in ‘straight through one night, too unhappy to sleep’ following a split from her partner in 2007. Winterson was living in the Writers Room at the famous Shakespeare and Comapny Bookstore (‘a novel in three words,’ the founder, George Whitman, said of the name to his store which he also called ‘a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore.’) that December and was using writing as a way of coping with loss. ‘I am the donkey,’ Winterson says of the creature in this story who proclaims ‘if He is to bear the burdens of the world, He had better be carried by me.’ We can easily see the metaphor for carrying the burdens of grief and forging oneself anew in solitude. Winterson also speak on this in the novella Weight, a retelling of the Atlas and Heracles myths where she writes ‘having no one to carry me, i learned to carry myself’ and confesses to having ‘an Atlas complex.’ It is always enjoyable to see how much of themselves Winterson filters their stories through, and even in this brief nativity story we see Winterson working through personal emotions in a way that feels productive and we all benefit from.
This was fun and I’m excited to make this a holiday tradition to read every Christmas Eve.
‘I lift up my voice and I bray and I bray, for memory, for celebration, for warning, for chance, for everything that is here below and all that is hidden elsewhere.’
The Lion, The Unicorn, and the Donkey as illustrated by Rosalind MacCurrach
This is short and sweet, and while it is a bit text heavy with a tale that might go above the heads of younger listeners, it has enough magic for them to endure through it and still enjoy the cute story. Winterson is a huge fan of Christmas and while there is a lot of organized religion trauma from their upbringing, Winterson always manages to unlock the magical spirit of the season in whimsical ways that explore the joy and the mystery of the season. I appreciated the artwork here as it presents Mary and Joseph with more accurate dark skin instead of the pasty white folks that used to be the staple of nativity illustrations in my childhood, and I very much enjoyed that the angel is depicted with bright, flowing red hair. Fans of Winterson’s earlier novels will recognize the significance as red hair is a common motif for the important characters or love interests in their stories. It is short and cute, with plenty of magic such as the donkey being touched by an angel to later discover ‘my muzzle had turned as gold as a trumpet that proclaims another world.’
In Christmas Days, Winterson writes that the text for this story was written in ‘straight through one night, too unhappy to sleep’ following a split from her partner in 2007. Winterson was living in the Writers Room at the famous Shakespeare and Comapny Bookstore (‘a novel in three words,’ the founder, George Whitman, said of the name to his store which he also called ‘a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore.’) that December and was using writing as a way of coping with loss. ‘I am the donkey,’ Winterson says of the creature in this story who proclaims ‘if He is to bear the burdens of the world, He had better be carried by me.’ We can easily see the metaphor for carrying the burdens of grief and forging oneself anew in solitude. Winterson also speak on this in the novella Weight, a retelling of the Atlas and Heracles myths where she writes ‘having no one to carry me, i learned to carry myself’ and confesses to having ‘an Atlas complex.’ It is always enjoyable to see how much of themselves Winterson filters their stories through, and even in this brief nativity story we see Winterson working through personal emotions in a way that feels productive and we all benefit from.
This was fun and I’m excited to make this a holiday tradition to read every Christmas Eve.
‘I lift up my voice and I bray and I bray, for memory, for celebration, for warning, for chance, for everything that is here below and all that is hidden elsewhere.’
December 28, 2022
This is a nice retelling of the Christmas story as seen from the viewpoint of the donkey. Jeanette Winterton has a lovely way of telling a story and describing scenes. The illustrations were nice, they looked a little too modern, pastel and pretty in places for my taste which left the overall feel of the book lacking for me, making this a 3 star read. Perhaps with more captivating illustrations this could have been a 4 star.
September 14, 2025
THANK YOU CLIO😭😭😭😭🥹🥹🥹🥹
November 15, 2011
The Christmas story from the Donkey's point of view - most animals get a mention - even spiders. Lovely, simple ilustrations, angels with lucious, long red hair, trumpets and stars. Shows Mary and Joseph in a more human light than usual.
January 4, 2017
Sweet, thoughtful, and inventive. At some point, I shall endeavour to read the standalone version, as I feel that the illustrations will lift the story even further than its appearance in Winterson's Christmas Days did.
November 28, 2022
This is a beautiful book that we read for the first time this Christmas. The story is a magical retelling of the nativity, told from the point of the view of the donkey. He manages to beat the lion and the unicorn in the final round for the position [of carrying Mary]. It's quite a long read for young children; I read it in three parts to maintain their focus and engagement. I think it would be a struggle for children under 4, as it was I had to stop a lot to explain what words or phrases meant or unpick a sentence. It's an excellent book for building vocabulary, it's packed from of uncommon words.
It's an absolutely enchanting story, it's told with gently - and occasionally wry - humour with a few bits of wordplay or jokes slipped in for the adults. They don't feel inappropriate for the kids to hear as I think they just missed them completely. It's a story best suited from 7 onwards, really but having read it first, there was nothing inappropriate for children my age, it would just prove a more challenging listen.
The illustrations are gorgeous; they are colourful but whimsical and dreamy. They kept my children engaged while I read and helped bring to life the world they were immersing themselves in. They really enjoyed that it was the donkey as the story-teller; I think that kept the story more interesting to them than if it was a human narrator.
This really is a lovely twist on the traditional Christmas story and something we will revisit every year. The review from the Independent named it "a fantastic Christmas heirloom" and I think that hits the nail on the head with profound accuracy.
It's an absolutely enchanting story, it's told with gently - and occasionally wry - humour with a few bits of wordplay or jokes slipped in for the adults. They don't feel inappropriate for the kids to hear as I think they just missed them completely. It's a story best suited from 7 onwards, really but having read it first, there was nothing inappropriate for children my age, it would just prove a more challenging listen.
The illustrations are gorgeous; they are colourful but whimsical and dreamy. They kept my children engaged while I read and helped bring to life the world they were immersing themselves in. They really enjoyed that it was the donkey as the story-teller; I think that kept the story more interesting to them than if it was a human narrator.
This really is a lovely twist on the traditional Christmas story and something we will revisit every year. The review from the Independent named it "a fantastic Christmas heirloom" and I think that hits the nail on the head with profound accuracy.
December 25, 2024
"He'll make an ass of himself," whispered the lion. I did. I am. A proper ass. Present position: under-donkey. Previous history: small under-donkey. Special strength: can carry anything anywhere. Weaknesses: not beautiful, not well-bred, not important, not clever, not noticed, not won any prizes...”
“The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me,” is a gorgeous and humorous re-telling of the Christmas story from the point of view of the donkey. Like all good Nativity stories, it opens with a job interview, in this case an Angel interviewing all the animals of the world for a position in carrying the Messiah. Many are eliminated for size and infeasibility, until it comes down the three: the lion, the unicorn, and our protagonist, the donkey. When essentially asked what they bring to the table for the Christ child, the lion and unicorn respond with majesty and mystery, the donkey with humility.
And that humility is just one of the many lovely qualities of the donkey’s narrative. Patient, gentle, and observant, the donkey narrates the traditional Nativity story with Jeannette Winterson’s characteristic humor and word-smithery. Yes, it’s a book perfectly appropriate for children - the illustrations are gorgeous- but it’s also filled with the sort of humor, imagery, and word play that adults will enjoys.
“The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me,” is a gorgeous and humorous re-telling of the Christmas story from the point of view of the donkey. Like all good Nativity stories, it opens with a job interview, in this case an Angel interviewing all the animals of the world for a position in carrying the Messiah. Many are eliminated for size and infeasibility, until it comes down the three: the lion, the unicorn, and our protagonist, the donkey. When essentially asked what they bring to the table for the Christ child, the lion and unicorn respond with majesty and mystery, the donkey with humility.
And that humility is just one of the many lovely qualities of the donkey’s narrative. Patient, gentle, and observant, the donkey narrates the traditional Nativity story with Jeannette Winterson’s characteristic humor and word-smithery. Yes, it’s a book perfectly appropriate for children - the illustrations are gorgeous- but it’s also filled with the sort of humor, imagery, and word play that adults will enjoys.
December 13, 2017
A beautiful telling of the Christmas story from the perspective of the donkey who carried Mary to Bethlehem. He won the right to bear her because, as he tells the angel choosing between a Unicorn, a Lion and him, 'if He bears the burdens of the world, He better be carried by me'. Winterson's use of language is a joy to read.
October 8, 2019
A donkey is selected for a special task.
A different perspective on a well known "biblical event", which brought humour and warmth to something usually treated with reverence.
Reading time around thirty minutes.
A different perspective on a well known "biblical event", which brought humour and warmth to something usually treated with reverence.
Reading time around thirty minutes.
December 28, 2023
Beautifully written and beautifully illustrated!
I found out about it from Jeanette Winterson's "Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal" and I'm happy my library had it. I was really curious to read it and see the illustrations after learning when she wrote it and how it came to be published.
I found out about it from Jeanette Winterson's "Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal" and I'm happy my library had it. I was really curious to read it and see the illustrations after learning when she wrote it and how it came to be published.
February 10, 2020
Awsome !
May 21, 2012
Fabulous children's book. Puts a great perspective forward in relation to a Christmas tale. Saw J W speak at this years Sydney Writers Festival. She signed it for my children and indicated she is the donkey in the story... No brainer. Its the narrator! Of course it's Winterson. She is amazing. Generous, funny and overwhelmingly articulate! Love
December 17, 2015
A retelling of the nativity story from the perspective of the donkey, who has a very good reason for being chosen to participate. As lovely as the story is, the illustrations make it even more beautiful--such vivid colors and bright stars!
December 5, 2024
Absolutely gorgeous story combined with luscious illustrations. I own over 50 Christmas books and I'm picky about adding any new ones at this point, but I immediately added this one to my permanent collection and recommended it to all my friends. So happy to have found this.
August 13, 2012
Simply beautiful. The story is moving and lovely. The art is fantastic. This is the best Christmas book to come out in ages. Wonderful for all ages and worth reading every year.
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June 2, 2018The most beautiful Christmas story ever. The one I read to my son every year since he can listen to a story. It has it all, the poetry, the supernatural-spiritual the fantastic and the dramatic . I fell in love with it and its beauty.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews