Peace on Earth: A Christmas Collection

Apparently I am a bit behind the times. Just as in other reviews, where I had never previously heard of the author, well here again, I had never heard of Mary Engelbreit. Sure, looking back, I've seen her illustrations around here and there (I think I was even gifted a Christmas decoration with her artwork), but I never realized they came from the same, renowned illustrator. In her preface, Engelbreit states that Christmas is her favorite holiday and she has thus collected some of her favorite hymns, stories, poetry and quotes into one eclectic collection, entitled, Peace on Earth: the Christmas Collection.

I chose to review this book when I saw it was a children's book, as my son is a voracious listener. If he knows he can expect a book in the mail, he waits with great anticipation for it to arrive. Thus, we were both delighted when this hardbound book (with a glittery dust jacket) arrived, and he immediately started flipping through its vividly detailed pages. I enjoyed reading the Gospel account of the birth of Jesus (according to Luke) as well as many carols and poems. The illustrated pages would make for a lovely book to have on display during Christmas time, if it wasn't for some of the content. I am very critical with what I put out, as I feel it reflects my beliefs. Because of this, I don't think this one will make it out on display this Christmas season. Perhaps I'm reading into it a bit too  much; I guess I'm a chip off the old block though, because my mother read it to my 4-year old and had a few of the same concerns.

First of all, I'm a bit startled that Zondervan has this book dedicated towards 4-8 year olds. I think they'd enjoy the pictures, and recognize some of the poems, hymns and carols (e.g. Friendly Beasts, First Noel, All Things Bright and Beautiful, etc), but I felt like some of it might be a bit to mature for them. I feel that adults would enjoy this (and appreciate the illustrations) a lot more then young children. Next, if you are not of the Catholic faith, you may be irritated and even offended by Engelbreit's numerous illustrations of the virgin Mary, who is consistently crowned with a halo of some sort. She even includes a poem, 'Lullay, My Liking', which contains the following in a stanza, "pray we now to that child and to his mother dear". I wish instead of caroling children on her cover, that Engelbreit could have placed the virgin Mary and child so that those of the Protestant faith could have been warned in advance. Finally, I was alarmed by the direction with which the theme of her book took as its pages progressed. It seems her focus on peace begins with Christ's birth, but somewhere along the way transitions into a more worldly stance of peace being something achievable by man's power. Nowhere is this better exemplified, then in her inclusion of the story, "Another Boy", by Bruce Barton. Barton writes as if Jesus was born to topple the throne of Rome and cause democracy and equality to rise. He further writes,

"We celebrate His birthday, and the festival of all children everywhere. They, not we, are the really important people of the earth. In cradles, and at the foot of Christmas trees, are the lives that are to overthrow and rebuild all that we have built. Nothing is so powerful or so perfect that it cannot be transformed utterly by the miracle of another girl. Or another boy."

Engelbreit notes in her preface that she believes her selections "capture the true meaning of this wonderful holiday... a small child, humbly born in a stable". And therein lies my problem with this work. The miracle of Christmas was not just the birth of a child, but the Christ child. He is Emmanuel, God with us, not just 'another boy'. And He was born to save mankind; Christmas ought to be a celebration of His birth, not a 'festival of all children everywhere'. And yes, children are important. Scripture says that we need to have faith like a child to enter into the kingdom of heaven. But it comes about in believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah. Salvation comes from Him alone, unlike her illustrated quote by Jewish philosopher Martin Buber that leans towards a universalistic mindset ("God made so many different kinds of people. Why would he allow only one way to serve Him?")*. True peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and can only be found in Christ.

*Engelbreit may have arguably used the quote to summarize a selected reading by James Freeman Clarke; he argues that we have all been given different gifts by God, and each is necessary and equal in value. I think she could have used a different quote though (e.g. I Corinthians 12), and by illustrating that quote into a much larger size font, it makes it stand out from the page.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review  program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255