Nativity Stories

Nativity Stories
by Alan Howard
Illustrated by Bethan Welby

It all happened just before the first Christmas night of all Christmas nights; and that, as you know, was a long, long time ago.
A beautiful, surly donkey is too wild to be ridden by anyone. When his master, eager to be rid of him, sells the beast to Mary, her new companion is suddenly as docile as a lamb.  Joseph’s staff, found in the corner of his workshop, is made of a wood no one can identify; and it has some amazing qualities as Joseph will find out.  A little boy cleans and cleans his father’s stable one week knowing it just isn’t clean enough, but not yet knowing why.

Simple things attend the birth of Jesus: a donkey to carry Mary, a staff to support old Joseph, a stable, and straw, and a manger in which to lay the Jesus child.  These lively stories of the Nativity conclude with a more contemporary tale, creating the atmosphere we all seek at Christmas. Each of these imaginative stories, which present a simple element of the Nativity as their central themes, were written to be read aloud.  Here they are presented with new, fresh watercolours by Bethan Welby, herself a former pupil of the school in England where these stories were told as part of a long-standing story-telling tradition.

Renowned as a storyteller and teacher, Alan Howard taught for 18 years at Michael House School in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, before emigrating to Canada in 1968 to help establish the Toronto Waldorf School where he taught for 5 years. For nearly 30 years his busy life then continued as a writer, teacher, lecturer and consultant to Steiner Waldorf schools.

Contents

Part I
Foreword: “Tell us a Story”

Part II
The Stable – in which Jesus was born
The Manger – on which Mary, his mother, laid him
The Donkey – on which she rode to Bethlehem
The Staff – with which Joseph walked by her side
The Straw – which filled the manger

Part III
No Room – a contemporary tale.

We are delighted to announce that royalties from the sale of this book will be paid to the new Phoenix Kindergarten, located in Cossall near Ilkeston, which opened in September 2021 following the earlier closure of Michael House School.
This has been made possible by Alan Howard's son, Roger Howard, having generously agreed to gift the royalties from the sale of this book to a Waldorf initiative.
We wish the Phoenix Kindergarten all the very best during the years ahead.
https://phoenixkindergarten.org.uk

A Wynstones Press title
80 pages.
160 x 235 mm, 6½ x 9 inches.
Hardcover.
6 colour illustrations.
ISBN 9780946206896