The Birds of Christmas - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

Maria Marshall
2 days ago
3 min read

I am excited to be able to offer you all a SNEAK PEEK at this touching and beautiful folktale about the birds who visited the nativity with gifts for the baby at Christmas. Watch for it next Tuesday.

Book cover - a European robin sits under a multi-pointed star, with its red chest puffed out, singing.

The Birds of Christmas

Author: Olivia Armstrong

Illustrator: Mira Miroslavova

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (August 12, 2025)

Ages: 4 - 8

Fiction/ Folktale

Themes:

Christmas, birds, folktale, compassion, and wonder.

Synopsis:

A stunning folktale about the Nativity, set on a chilly night in Bethlehem.

“Wake up, wake up, birds!” croaks Raven one December night. “A child is born!” Each bird longs to bring a gift to the newborn baby in the manger. Nightingale sings a sweet song; Rooster caws a special call; Stork plucks her feathers to make a pillow. “I have nothing to give,” thinks little Robin. But as the night grows colder, the fire keeping the stable warm burns lower and lower. Maybe even a tiny bird has her own way to show her love for the newborn Prince of Peace…

Illustrated in lush blues and golds, The Birds of Christmas invites children to join the flock gathering around the manger. This beautiful book is an unforgettable reminder of the wonder of Christmas and the priceless gift of compassion.

Opening Lines:

One cold, dark December night, without

a sliver of moonlight, without a glitter of

starlight, Raven flew through the sky.

He had stayed out far too late.

What I Loved about this book:

A lovely, lyrical text follows Raven as he heads home, soaring over the darkened town of Bethlehem. I love the deep purples of the night and the shadow of Raven skimming the cobblestones. Not unexpectedly, as this is a Nativity tale, suddenly the sky is filled with "a glorious golden gleam spreading like honey" which entices the raven and a shepherd and his sheep.

Internal spread - set in a purple and blue palette, with orange and black highlights, a street curves between stone houses with domed or wooden roofs, as a raven's shadow flies across the cobble stones..

Text © Olivia Armstrong, 2025. Image © Mira Miroslavova, 2025.

In a version of the nativity I have never heard before, a voice commands Raven to tell all the birds that "A child has been born. He is the Prince of Peace." Raven wakes Wren, who weaves the baby a blanket. Then Nightingale, who composes a lullaby for the baby. And Rooster, who helped spread the news with great fanfare by crowing "some strange words: “Christus Natus Est!”.

Raven follows the star until it stops above a stable and watches as birds arrive from all around. Mira Miroslavova's beautiful pencil and digitally colored illustrations, in the predominately purple, blue, brown, and orange, palette, do such a great job of depicting the movement of the birds and the delicate details of their wings and feathers.

Internal spread - on the left, a bright star hangs above a small stable surround by a little golden fence. On the right, A large stork and six other birds swirl across the the deep purple-blue starlit sky.

Like the little drummer boy, a small bird huddles in the corner as the other birds offer gifts to the baby, She wonders what gift she could possibly offer the baby. When a chilly wind sweeps into the stable and the fire starts to sputter, chilling the baby, the little bird rushes to fan the flames. Then she transports many clusters of twigs to feed the fire and warm the stable again.

Internal spread - on the left, a small bird fans a fire. On the upper right, the small bird brings twigs into the stable window. On the bottom right, the Bird looks at Mary and the baby.

The little bird's kindness was its gift to the baby. Turns out the little bird was a robin, and the ending explains how robins got their brilliant red breasts. It is a sweet story and the triumphantly proud, kindhearted robin gets a lovely cameo. This lyrical picture book is fun for bird lovers, those who enjoy folktales, and a wonderful addition to Christmas stories. It's a gentle, soothing book reminding readers that we each have a gift and are special just as we are.

Resources:

make a carboard robin. Make it as an ornament or into a marionette by adding some string attached to the robin and a stick.

what is your favorite bird? What gift to you think they would have brought to the baby. What is most unusual gift you could imagine a bird bringing to the baby? Which bird would bring that gift?

what is your own special gift?

If you missed my interview with Olivia Armstrong and Lira Miroslavova on Monday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.