First Christmas Book

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FIRST CHRISTMAS
By Alastair Macdonald
Illustrated by Adel Nassief

Almost 25 years ago, author Alastair Macdonald went looking for a picture book telling the story of the birth of Jesus Christ to read to his children. Not finding exactly what he wanted, he decided to tell the story in his own words. “I wanted to create a story,” says Macdonald, “that would become a family tradition that parents could share with their children every Christmas; a story that would help to bring Christ back into Christmas.”

Macdonald decided to tell the story from the unique perspective of Zeke, Joseph’s trusty and hardworking donkey and wrote the story in poetic verse – anapestic tetrameter – the same upbeat and galloping rhythm of “The Night Before Christmas” and much of the poetry of Dr. Seuss.

First Christmas is vividly illustrated by Adel Nassief, an accomplished Coptic Christian artist who lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt. Nassief and Macdonald collaborated for three years on the creation of the icons illustrating First Christmas. The paintings were done in the traditional manner, on wood board with tempura paint and gold leaf. In the

Coptic Christian tradition, icons are described as being “written” instead of painted because their creation requires prayer and spiritual consideration as well as artistic effort. Nassief’s twenty one paintings bring alive the story as never before, giving Zeke’s poetic narrative both depth and dignity.

Although it has taken almost 25 years to get First Christmas completed and published, its creation has been marked by many moments of serendipity and grace. As Macdonald indicates, “This is a project that just wouldn’t go away. It has been touched in so many ways with divine intervention. How else can you explain that the poem could be written by a man who had never written poetry; an Egyptian artist would be found to interpret the poem with beauty, grace and spirituality; and finally Welcome Books, probably one of the most distinctive publishers of illustrated books in North America, would agree to publish it? It has truly been a project of continuing great blessings.” In fact the blessings keep on happening. In November 2008, First Christmas was awarded a gold medal by the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards.

First Christmas is a handsome and beautifully designed book, a book to keep and cherish. It is a hardcover book with a cloth cover and a picture of the nativity inserted in the cover. All of the lettering and design on the cover is done in gold stamp. The printing and color is sumptuous with 5 color ink rather than the usual 4 colors. The extra color gold brings out the full intensity of Nassief’s paintings. No wonder it won a gold medal.

The original paintings of First Christmas will be on exhibit in New York during December 2008 at St Peter’s Church (54th and Lexington St) from 30th November 2008 to 8th January 2009 (9:00am to 7:00pm). The exhibit will be like a big picture book where parents can read and share this wondrous story with their children as they move through the Gallery. Please visit us this Christmas in New York.

Several years ago, Macdonald gave a mock-up copy of First Christmas to a friend with two boys aged 7 and 12. On Christmas Eve he read the book to his boys as he put them to bed. In the middle of the book there was a blackout and the electricity went off. He tucked the boys in bed with the book unfinished. The next morning when the boys awoke, the first thing they asked their dad was to finish First Christmas. Christmas presents and stockings took second place. Isn’t that the way all of our Christmases should be? To Purchase First Christmas CLICK HERE TOP
In November 2008, First Christmas won the gold medal in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards holiday category.