This is a delightful retelling of the biblical account of the journey three wise men took to see baby Jesus, Son of God, under the divine guidance of a star. The author thoughtfully filled in gaps of the wise men's story with fictional details meant to entertain children. With beautifully detailed illustrations, this is a work of reality-based fiction children would surely enjoy, especially at Christmas.

This is a humorous retelling of the story of the wise men. I was disappointed, however, not to be able to view any pictures in the ecopy I downloaded, either of the two times I tried. Because most of the book was illegible, I can't give much of an opinion of it.

In Home by Another Way, Barbara Brown Taylor uses her characteristic wit in a familiar story of the wise men seeking the Christ child.

While the story of the wise men is not new, this telling of it has unique descriptions that will stand out and draw readers in. When the king has learned a new ruler has been born, he suggests "they should go to Bethlehem at once -- with his blessing -- on one condition: that they come back and tell him who his successor was so that he could, um, send flowers to the new king," which perfectly captures the threat the king feels at this news as well as how disingenious his words are.

One particular aspect I appreciated is that the illustrator has not white-washed the characters -- they all look like actual Middle Eastern individuals could have appeared.

While the biblical accounts of the wise men with the Christ child are brief and don't include specifics of their conversation when they part, my favorite part of the book was when the wise men share the gifts, by way of blessings, they received from Jesus. It's engaging to consider how this meeting could transform their lives and start a new trajectory of meaning and study.

I am ever gathering holiday books into my home and retiring others to better curate our Advent reading pile, and this would be a perfect fit in our library.

This is a slightly different telling of the three wise men. I found the story to be rather confusing and different than the biblical story. The author changed details in the story, like that the wise men all left at different times. I think that the age group I teach would have a tough time understanding this book. The illustration are stunning which was my favorite part of the story.

This is the story of the wise men and their journey, following the star and putting their faith in something the didn't fully understand.



I like how this book looks at the wisemen, and imagines what kind of lives they were leaving behind to follow the star, as well as the comfort they were giving up. I liked how the book draws out that they left with more than they came with, even though everyone knows that they were the ones who brought gifts.



This is a beautifully illustrated book, with bright colors, and artwork that captures the eye. The storytelling felt off kilter at times, leaning more towards telling rather than showing, with an odd modern reference to Pine-Sol. There were fictional licenses taken, but I don't think that they detracted from the main point of the story. A lovely book, that shows a different side of the Christmas story, with plenty of thoughts to linger on after the final page is closed.





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