The Wonders of the First Christmas by Andy McGuire

The Wonders of the First Christmas
by Andy McGuire

ISBN-13: 9780310170211
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Released: October 7, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Christmas story is so familiar that we often take the details for granted. But did Mary and Joseph really ride on a donkey to Bethlehem? What was a manger and why did they use one for Jesus’s bed? And where were the wise men actually from? By approaching the story with historical insight and a child’s sense of wonder, Andy McGuire crafts a tale that feels fresh and insightful, using well-researched material and beautiful original artwork.

The Wonders of the First Christmas combines the gospel text of the nativity story with historical and geographic facts about ancient Israel and the life and times of Jesus. It gives children a solid foundation for their faith with beautiful art and additional content. For children ages 4 and up, it includes an easy-to-read main story as well as callouts with easy-to-understand facts.


My Review:
The Wonders of the First Christmas is a Christian book about Christmas for ages 4 and up. The illustrations were in a very realistic style and showed historically accurate visuals for the story. The main text recounts the birth of Jesus as described in the Bible, from Mary being visited by an angel until Jesus' family returns from Egypt after Herod's death. There were also boxes with a paragraph or two of historical information that expanded upon the main text, and this would be of more interest to maybe 7 year-olds and up. These boxes provided more information on carpenters, Rome, donkeys, inns, swaddling clothes, shepherds, sheep, angels, mangers, wise men, prophecy about Jesus' birth, myrrh and frankincense, camels, and Egypt. Overall, I think this would be of most interest to kids who have grown up hearing the basic Christmas story but are old enough to like learning more background information. I'd recommend this well-written and illustrated book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.