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Friday, December 13, 2013

Voices of Christmas

I love this beautiful book by Nikki Grimes. The Christmas story unfolds in the voices of all those who were a part of the miracle of Jesus birth. Eric Velasquez' illustrations capture the mystery and wonder in the faces of each character. A lovely addition to any Christmas collection.



The Innkeeper
by Nikki Grimes

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in band of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

See here!
My inn is splitting its sides
with travelers,
the spare rooms swallowed up
by Roman soldiers, merchants,
and who knows who!
Don't blame me.
The young girl with belly
round as a drum
was not the only one
forced to come to Bethlehem.
But, since her husband
rapped upon my door,
I led them to a dry spot
in my stable,
and a bed of hay
on which to lay themselves.
It was the most I could offer,
other than to share \my own, warm room.
And who would care
to do that for strangers?
It's's not as if they were royalty, right?
A stable would do for the night.

Tabatha hosts the roundup  at The Opposite of Indifference.

11 comments:

  1. Have not seen this book yet. Love the poem you shared!

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    1. I really like Nikki Grimes. So glad you like the poem.

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  2. Oh, looks like a good book. What a potent ending to the poem.

    Violet N.

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  3. Love this poem from the innkeeper's POV! Looks to be a fascinating book.

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    1. I'm glad you liked it Michelle. Each poem is in a different POV. Really well done.

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  4. Dori-just ordered the book from the library-how wonderful to see poems in the individual voices! Thank you for sharing this lovely book. Nikki Grimes does so much so well! Her latest, about her own growing up, is Words With Wings, a verse bio!

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    1. Thanks, Linda! I had not seen that one. I'll have to check it out.

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  5. Nikki Grimes os one of my favorites, but I did not know about this book. Will have to look for it. Thanks for taking us to the stable tonight. I am thinking about the homeless and what they have to do to survive in this cold weather.

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  6. The expression on Mary's face is striking, I think. Velasquez captured something special. Thanks for letting us know about this book!

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  7. This poem reminds me of the line from the Bible: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2). Thanks for sharing!

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