Childrens Book Review: The First Night by B.G. Hennessy (A Christmas Book)

The First Night by B.G. Hennessy features paintings by Steve Johnson with Lou Fancher. It is a Scholastic Christmas book first published in 1993.

The First Night begins with a Bible verse from the book of John.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

The First Night is a very simply written book. There are only a few words on each page and each page features a different painting by Steve Johnson. I am not an artist, but personally, the paintings are not the best I have ever seen in a child's book. The colors are dark, almost gloomy. It looks as if the artist attempts to create light in the paintings featuring Baby Jesus, but, in my opinion, it is not the best attempt at painting light. However, as I previously stated, I am not an artist so you will need to draw your own conclusions about the artwork in the book.

The language in the book is simple which makes the book easy for beginners to read. The writer paints a picture in the readers mind of a field of sheep and a quiet, starry sky. Then, he introduces the reader to a town and a stable, never mentioning the name of the town, however. Hennessy writes about a lamb, a cow, a donkey, and hay inside a warm, dark stable, creating the atmosphere of that first night. Next, Hennessy tells the reader about a mother, father, and little baby who are already in the stable, the baby lying on a bed of hay. He attempts to give the young reader a glimpse of what the stable may have looked like to a baby who sees it for the first time and how He must have felt to snuggle with His earthly parents.

Hennessy never mentions the town of Bethlehem or who the baby is. Neither the names of Mary, Joseph, nor Jesus are mentioned in the book. There is no mention of God, a savior, or anything to indicate the holiness of the baby or the meaning of "the first night."

The First Night is a cute story about a little baby born in a stable surrounded by loving parents and resting animals, but that is all. Parents and teachers will have to add the important details of the night as they read the story. The First Night is not one of my favorite Christmas books.