Review
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Title: More Than Just a Star
Author: Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Genre: Children’s picture book, Christmas
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 32
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-63993-068-5
Price: $19.99 USD
Reviewed by Danielle Withers for the Association of Mormon Letters
This sweet children’s story is about a young shepherd boy, Micah, and his father. Micah keeps asking his father what he should watch for regarding Jesus Christ’s birth. His father tells him the signs he should watch for and gives him something to keep in his bag to help him remember. His father then tells Micah to remember that Jesus will be more than just the sign he should watch for. Hence the title of the book, More Than Just a Star.
I really enjoyed More Than Just a Star because it’s about the signs of Jesus Christ’s birth and the importance of this event and the person. I read this book to my niece (7 years old), and she enjoyed the story and images, but she loved how the book (and more so the dust cover) was interactive. Before opening the book, I noticed a sticker that said, “Includes Nativity Scene and Symbols of Christ.” As we opened the book, I noticed the front, inside flap of the dustcover had pictures and dotted marks around them with a scissors icon. After reading the book, I exclaimed to my niece that the images on the front AND back inside flaps were the symbols of Christ mentioned in the story. I removed the entire dust cover and found a nativity scene. She was ecstatic! She wanted to immediately cut them out right then and set up the nativity, but I told her we should do it a little closer to Christmas to make it more special, which she agreed to.
I enjoyed the drawn illustrations and colors; they are very soft and easy on the eye and not too bright that they would detract from the story and its message. With the dust jacket being interactive and less on the inside after cutting out the symbols of Christ, I could see the dust jacket easily getting ruined. However, the hardback book quality itself is very sturdy. Also, once you cut out the symbols of Christ, you may wonder how will I not lose these? Well, there is a small pocket on the inside back cover where you can keep the pieces for the future. That was great to find! I was also very grateful to see a list of all the prophecies, symbols, and scripture references for all the symbols of Christ mentioned in the story.
More Than Just a Star is definitely targeted at children and their families because it helps explain the importance of the Nativity story (Christ’s birth), as well as helps us remember that Christ is more than just one thing; he is many things. I would recommend More Than Just a Star to anyone wanting a sweet and interactive children’s book that they can read with children and remember all the things that Christ is and what Christmas is about.