The Little Shepherd children's book review

Our kids like to read, and my oldest loves to read. They each read at least 30-40 minutes each day. Because of this, we are always looking for new books to read. I was excited when I received a copy of The Little Shepherd by Cheryl Malandrinos for review. 


The Little Shepherd is a sweet Christmas book about Obed, a very young shepherd whose father has just given him a flock of sheep to guard. But Obed's first night guarding sheep is not an ordinary night. When angels appear in the night sky, Obed's first night of shepherding turns out a little differently than what he expected and in the end, he experiences a Christmas miracle of his very own. Obed is worried about leaving his flock unattended, but they return to find the flocks unharmed, completely safe and right where they left them. 

The book is a thin paperback, but there are a lot of words on each page. Britain's first comment about the book was that there were too many words on each page. While the main character of the book, Obed, is just 5 years old, I felt like the content of the book was geared towards a slightly older audience. It seems like the content and wording is above the attention span of the average preschooler. Each page is very colorfully illustrated.

Alex, my 9 year old, read the book on her own and liked it. She seemed especially intrigued by the miracle Obed experienced. My 7 year old, Emily, also read the book and her first comment after reading the book was "I love the baby in the manger - it's so sweet!" (obviously not original to this story, lol!). But she also picked up on some of the subtleties of the story, such as when Obed wonders how his father knew where to find the baby in the manger.

All in all, this is a great Christmas story for kids. It will be a wonderful addition to your Christmas library! The fresh telling from a young shepherd's point of view will hold the attention of children who may have already heard the Christmas story presented in its traditional form many times. 


You can purchase The Little Shepherd for $9.95 here.




I received a copy of The Little Shepherd for review. However, all opinions are my own (or that of my children) and were not influenced in any way.