Publisher's Synopsis
A tradition has it that the animals talked at the birth of Jesus Christ and for one night knew the significance of the event. This story features the donkey's perspective but all the animals including the donkey, cow, chicken, dog, cat, sheep, goose, duck, doves and mouse eventually chime in with animal sounds and words. The donkey proudly boasts that Mary rode Bethlehem on him and all the animals listen. Then each wants to help out in some way; the cow offers the stable and the manger, the duck provides down feathers, the doves sing and so on. It is written in poetry form and has a definite rhythm. There are 26 cute and clever fully illustrated pages by artist Sharon Wagner. The artwork depicts the animals as they talked, moved about, admired and wanted to contribute something to the baby. Author Ivan Jensen has composed music making the words of the book into a song with piano and oboe accompaniment. The 12 page musical score is printed in the back of the book and can be sung with piano accompaniment only or with no accompaniment at all. Also available is a CD recording of the music, which has three tracks; a reading of the book with a page turn tone, 2 adults and 2 children singing with piano and oboe accompaniment, and piano and oboe accompaniment only. This is ideal for home entertainment and is perfectly suited to become part of a church or school production. To order copies of the musical score and/or the CD, please send an email to [email protected].
