The Adventure of Christmas by Ed Drew

The Adventure of Christmas offers short, 10-minute family devotions based on the biblical narrative of the first Christmas.

The Adventure of Christmas: A Journey Through Advent for the Whole Family by Ed Drew, and illustrated by Alex Webb-Peploe. The Good Book Co., 2021. 128 pages.

Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12

Recommended For: All ages

The first Christmas was an adventure like no other.

~Ed Drew

Adventure is the theme of this Advent devotional, but on the surface it appears much like other family Advent devotionals: a reading from the Bible, a short commentary, some discussion questions, and a few suggested activities. What sets this one apart? For starters, it’s short! Daily devotions are designed to fit within 10 minutes. In addition, this guide doesn’t pre-suppose readers are already familiar with Scripture and the Christmas story. As such, this would work well in an after school ministry setting or even in a school classroom (in addition to a family setting). Each day’s reading begins with an orientation to the part of the story in the day’s reading: where it is in the Bible, what came before, where we are headed. Questions are broken down by suggested age ranges (from young children through adults). Scripture passages (in the International Children’s Version) are included as well as a set of small symbols that leaders can photocopy and use to decorate an Advent calendar or display.

The art in this devotional is interesting, especially the angels. These angels are robust, muscular, and other-worldly looking, not juvenile-looking Precious Moments cherubs. Black and white illustrations of the human characters look plausibly Jewish/Middle Eastern. Unfortunately, the art on the small symbols is much more simplistic. Still, they are a nice resource.

The entire Christmas story is covered in this guide, which means that the birth of Jesus happens about mid-way through. After his birth, we meet the shepherds, Anna and Simeon, the wise men, and are reminded that Jesus grows up! This guide, more than many, gives a very full picture of the entire Christmas story. It’s best for those newer to the biblical narrative of the first Christmas. Looking for something that looks at the Christmas story through a different lens? Try Wonders of His Love, an Advent family devotional that examines the prophecies in Isaiah.

Considerations:

• This is a British publication. Normally, that’s not significant enough for a “consideration,” but this book will refer to things like “biscuits,” and the astute reader should recognize that English biscuits are American cookies.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

• Worldview/Moral Rating: 5 out of 5
• Literary/Artistic Rating: 4 out of 5

Read more about our ratings here.

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader

• A Review: Unwrapping the Names of Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu is another nice family devotional for Advent.
• A Review: A Better Than Anything Christmas by Barbara Reaoch builds in journaling and other interactive options in a similar level family devotional as The Adventure of Christmas.
• A Resource: See all of our Family Advent Devotional reviews in one place!

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