The First Christmas: A Changing-Picture Book
by Sophy Williams
The nativity told simply, with gatefold flaps that change the picture as children lift them and watch the story of the first Christmas unfold. Warm pastel illustrations for the youngest readers.
Updated August 2026
Key features of this book.
- Lift-the-flap changing pictures
- Warm pastel nativity art
- Simple text for toddlers
- A gentle retelling of the first Christmas
How to use this book.
For bedtime reading
- Read one story per night for a calming routine
- Use gentle, soothing tones
- Point out illustrations and ask questions
- End with a simple bedtime prayer
For family devotions
- Read together and discuss the story
- Ask: "What did you learn about God?"
- Connect the story to your child's life
- Draw or act out scenes together
If The First Christmas: A Changing-Picture Book is already on your shelf, the next book does not have to be one more copy of something everyone owns. We print a keepsake with your child in it one at a time, after you order it.
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Bring The First Christmas: A Changing-Picture Book home.
Recommended for ages 2-5 years.
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What we checked against Scripture.
We read the passages behind the stories in this book and note where a retelling compresses, paraphrases or adds. We compare editions and read what other parents report. We have not tested this book with a classroom.
The nativity, Luke 1 to 2 with Matthew 2
The announcement to Mary, the journey, the birth, the shepherds and the wise men are the five beats the flaps turn on. As usual in a nativity picture book, the wise men arrive sooner than Matthew places them.
Text and pictures
A few hundred words carry the story and the gatefolds carry the rest. No Scripture is printed and no reference is given.
Questions parents ask.
What age is The First Christmas: A Changing-Picture Book for?
Amazon lists a reading age of 3 to 7 and a grade level of preschool to second grade. It is only 14 pages, but they are large, roughly ten inches square, with gatefolds that change the picture. The mechanism is the draw, so a child who has outgrown novelty books will find it thin.
How do the changing pictures work?
Each spread carries a gatefold flap that turns one scene into the next when it is opened, so the angel appears, the stable fills and the wise men arrive. Sophy Williams illustrated it in soft pastels and Templar published it in 2010. A three-year-old will want to open them all at once, so the first reading is rarely the story.
What is the text like?
Short. Fourteen pages with a paragraph or so each means the nativity is told in a few hundred words, from the announcement to Mary through to the wise men. There is no Scripture printed and no reference given. The pictures carry more of the story than the sentences do, which is the design rather than a fault.
How long does a reading take?
Three or four minutes if the flaps behave. Families often use it as the December book, brought out once a year with the decorations, which is a sensible use for a novelty book that would wear out quickly as a nightly read.
Where does it sit next to the other Christmas books?
It is the youngest of them. The Christmas Story for Children has the most text and suits four to eight, the Brick Bible version wins over children who want LEGO, and this one is for a toddler who wants to do something with a book. Its 14 pages will not hold a child much past five.