Amazon Category:  Holidays Publisher: HOLIDAY HOUSE ISBN-10:  0689816731 Type: Fiction Pages: 32 Copyright: Jan 1 2000 THE NATIVITY WITH A BLACK BABY JESUS. In a series of simple, evocative images, W. Nikola-Lisa takes readers on a journey toward the Nativity, with a black baby Jesus as its centerpiece. Synthia Saint James's vibrant colorblock paintings capture the mystery and anticipation of this journey and of the birth of a newborn king. Excerpt Presenting, in all its mystery, the story of Christmas... A sprinkle of stars, A plume of smoke, A plum-purple sky, And a black baby Jesus- Hallelujah! A flock of sheep, A watch of shepherds, Yew-green hills, And a black baby Jesus- Hallelujah! A slice of road, A clutch of trees, A cake-white wall, And a black baby Jesus- Hallelujah!

Holiday Stars-Booklist
"A black baby Jesus---Hallelujah!" That's the refrain in this joyful picture book that celebrates the birth of Christ with short, vivid, chanting lines and bright, rhythmic, color-block paintings in a style reminiscent of Jacob Lawrence. Everyone in the pictures is black--the Holy Family, the shepherds, the three kings bearing gifts--and the dramatic words and geometric pictures set the people in a universe of brilliant colors, elemental shapes, and powerful movement. Inside the stable there's "A toss of hay./A fold of blanket./A sky-blue scarf./and a black baby Jesus." Outside are green hills, a purple sky, a slate-gray donkey, a red velvet canopy, and a host of angels in many colors presiding over the splendor. The text is great for reading aloud, and the pictures will appeal to the felt-board crowd, as well as to a more sophisticated audience. Saint James' illustrations for Karen English's - Neeny Coming, Neeny Going -(1996) won her a Coretta Scott King Honor, and here again she expresses a universal theme with a childlike simplicity.

publishers weekly
"Stirring paintings, with crisp fields of intense color in Saint James's (Neeny Coming, Neeny Going) distinctive style, rank among the artist's best work."

school library journal
"this handsome book combines evocative, lyrical text with distinctive, richly colored illustrations to tell the story of the Nativity...The infant, so simply yet effectively rendered by the interplay of text and color, is the focus and inspires the awe that the story commands."