Book: Star! Stable! Saviour!
Author: Cameron Semmens
Illustrator: Rod Allen
Hardback: 24 pages
Publisher: Wombat Books, Australia, 2015
Language: English
ISBN-13: 9781925139600
RRP: AUD $11.99

Reviewed By: Penny Reeve

Blurb:  ‘Witty and wordy, strange and absurd-y, truthful and fun for all the family: this is the Christmas story superbly retold by Cameron Semmens using virtually nothing but words starting with ‘S’.’ 

Author Cameron Semmens

What I thought: Star! Stable! Saviour! is a bright, paperback picture book for children by Australian poet and writer, Cameron Semmens. It’s a retelling of the Christmas story with the unusual feature of being primarily written as an alliteration using the letter ‘s’.

The story itself focuses on the Christmas journey of the three kings – or should I say ‘snazzy scientists’ – and the shepherds. The illustrations by Rod Allen are humourous and often include interesting, a-typical, details that children will enjoy noticing (for example, the ‘snazzy scientists’ are shown wearing ‘snappy sneakers’). The vocabulary is rich, even if it’s stuck in the ‘s’ section of the dictionary, and encourages kids to consider the way a familiar story can be described in a different and clever way.

I probably have to admit that there were a few details in this version of the Christmas story that bothered me. It is likely they were the result of the demands of alliteration, for example the labelling of angels as ‘shining spirits’, and maybe this says more about my tendency to be pedantic when it comes to the retelling of Bible stories than about the book itself. I found the note at the back of the book, encouraging readers to check out the original Christmas story in the book of Matthew, a helpful inclusion – especially as it encourages young readers to get into the habit of checking facts and details with the word of God.

I also found the text quite difficult to read aloud to my son, it was a bit like reading a tongue twister! And maybe that’s the point and attraction of the book. My son obviously didn’t mind hearing the repeated ‘s’ sounds even if my mouth was struggling to keep up with them all!

Overall, this book is worth considering as a Christmas bookshelf addition. If you are going to be the parent reading and rereading this one as a bed time story, however, I’d probably advise a test run to see if your tongue will cope!

Rating:    

Where to buy: Visit the Wombat Books website for details of where to buy. Wholesale orders can be made through Novella Distribution. 

This book was reviewed by Penny Reeve as part of the Australian Christian Readers BlogAlliance. Penny is a children’s writer from Australian and is always on the look-out for great stories for kids that explore faith related concepts.
If you are interested in being part of the blog alliance and tasting some amazing writing by Aussie writers, click on the link to find out more!