What do you think?
Rate this book
The Friendly Beasts
A picture-book adaptation of the classic Christmal carol, The Friendly Beasts.
- GenresChristmasPicture Books
26 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 16, 2018
Beasts refers to the animals in the stable that baby Jesus is going to rest in. They are wondering what they can give him. I don’t think the story is all that engaging, but the art is fantastic. I love the crazy art. It is wonderful. I guess a story told from the perspective of the animals is interesting and different. It’s a change from the usual Christmas time stories we hear. I guess I’m talking myself into a better star here.
The nephew thought this was ok. He gave it 3 stars so I will follow suit.
The nephew thought this was ok. He gave it 3 stars so I will follow suit.
December 18, 2019
Using the popular children's carol of The Friendly Beasts (sometimes also known as The Animals' Carol) as a starting point for her story, author Laura Nelson Baker spins the tale of the animals who patiently waited in the stable at Bethlehem for the heralded Christ child to appear. Each beast - the sheep, the cow, the doves - thinks of what they might give this miraculous babe, while the donkey, who bore the child's mother to the stable, had already given his gift...
Having read and enjoyed a number of picture-book presentations of this carol, from Tomie dePaola's The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol to Helen Ward's The Animals' Christmas Carol - I picked up Baker's little book with the expectation that it too would simply pair artwork with song. As it happens, the text is mostly in prose, setting up the situation at the manger before delving into the gifts given by the animals. The latter section of the story, devoted to said gift giving, is more poetic, but it doesn't reproduce the carol exactly. That is left to the final pages, which give the traditional verses, along with musical notation. The accompanying artwork from Nicolas Sidjakov is very much in the style of the Caldecott Medal-winning illustrations he did for Ruth Robbins' Baboushka and the Three Kings . Colorful and interesting, it is not quite my cup of tea. I generally prefer Sidjakov's work in books like Staffan: An Old Christmas Folk Song , which has more of a woodcut style. Interesting, obscure, and completely out of print, this is a book worth seeking out, if one is fond of Christmal carol picture-books, or is a fan of the artist. It is to readers with such interests and tastes that I would recommend it.
Having read and enjoyed a number of picture-book presentations of this carol, from Tomie dePaola's The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol to Helen Ward's The Animals' Christmas Carol - I picked up Baker's little book with the expectation that it too would simply pair artwork with song. As it happens, the text is mostly in prose, setting up the situation at the manger before delving into the gifts given by the animals. The latter section of the story, devoted to said gift giving, is more poetic, but it doesn't reproduce the carol exactly. That is left to the final pages, which give the traditional verses, along with musical notation. The accompanying artwork from Nicolas Sidjakov is very much in the style of the Caldecott Medal-winning illustrations he did for Ruth Robbins' Baboushka and the Three Kings . Colorful and interesting, it is not quite my cup of tea. I generally prefer Sidjakov's work in books like Staffan: An Old Christmas Folk Song , which has more of a woodcut style. Interesting, obscure, and completely out of print, this is a book worth seeking out, if one is fond of Christmal carol picture-books, or is a fan of the artist. It is to readers with such interests and tastes that I would recommend it.
December 12, 2022
This is nearly word for word my kids' kindergarten play so I quite like it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews