This large， hardcover picture book features twenty-five Advent readings with full-color， comics-style illustrations。 I expected it to be somewhat gimmicky， and was surprised by how deep and meaningful the readings were。 The book begins with the Nativity story from Luke， and then goes through twenty-five different accounts in chronological order。 Some of these involved the obvious major characters， but others were inventive。 I have to admit that I'd never thought about the Nativity story from the This large， hardcover picture book features twenty-five Advent readings with full-color， comics-style illustrations。 I expected it to be somewhat gimmicky， and was surprised by how deep and meaningful the readings were。 The book begins with the Nativity story from Luke， and then goes through twenty-five different accounts in chronological order。 Some of these involved the obvious major characters， but others were inventive。 I have to admit that I'd never thought about the Nativity story from the Angel Gabriel's perspective and wondered what he thought about sharing such unexpected news with Mary。 The author also uses animals and inanimate objects as eyewitnesses， creatively imagining what they the manger or what Jesus's blanket would think。The readings are all vivid and meaningful， highlighting key elements of God's character and amazing aspects of Jesus's coming。 They also conclude with a few open-ended discussion questions that parents could use with their kids。 At the end， the author also shares a summary of the redemptive story and a note for parents。 Although there are a few things I could nitpick， I was extremely impressed with this book overall， and my only significant critique is that too many of the characters look white instead of Middle Eastern。 Skin tones vary and the lighting differs， but the characters look too European/American。I would recommend this book to families， churches， and Christian schools。 It's very well-written and engaging， and the large size and vivid illustrations would make this great for a group read-aloud。 This would make a wonderful gift， and can create new Christmas traditions for families who read this every year。 I know that I would have loved this when I was a child， and I'm thankful that I've had the opportunity to review it。I received a copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more