Christmas Is Coming! (2025)

Christmas Is Coming! by Tama Fortner is a great religious Christmas book for young readers.

If you're seeking a little more Christian religion in your holiday books, then this book is for you! It reviews why Christmas, Christianity and God are very important to Jesus's Birthday. Add in the beautiful illustrations and you've got yourself one lovely book. This book tells the whole story that most people hear in Sunday school, but it adds in very pretty pictures and makes it easy to read and follow. It also makes the story more fun! I've heard this story told many times in a droning voice. It's nice to see it told in a more kid friendly way.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and B&H Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

RTC

This is a lovely Christmas book for little ones!

Minor editing mistake: it mentions that the star "shown" (instead of "shone"). Oops.

I love to find something different and unique in every nativity book. I love the illustration, even though I am not a fan of making adults look like children, but that is just a personal preference. The text is simple and cute. The book gives an extra sparkle to the story having the family in the background! A really good book

Christmas is Coming! Christmas is usually the most-anticipated holiday of the year for all the wrong reasons. This beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written book resets our Christmas anticipations by focusing on the promise of Jesus the Messiah.

The opening set of panels shows a contemporary Christmas setting as a family readies the tree and wraps the presents. But the text reminds us that the greatest gift of all came long ago and was a part of God’s plan for even longer than that. The second set of panels takes us back to Creation and the Fall and God’s wonderful promise of a Messiah that goes all the way back to Genesis 3. Wazza Pink’s haunting blue and purple woodscape captures the sense of walking out of Paradise and into the unknown. Next comes the prophets, then Mary, then John the Baptist, then Joseph—all with the refrain of they “they knew and we know too…Christmas is coming!”

The story pivots (as it should) with the birth of Jesus and a change to the refrain: Christmas had finally come! From here, the story continues with the new refrain. The angels know it, the shepherds know it, the wise men know it, and then the last panel brings us full circle back to the contemporary setting: God always knew, and now you know too…and that’s why Christmas is coming!

Tama Fortner’s words and Wazza Pink’s captivating illustrations build and build and build the anticipation. Your little one will love the feeling of getting closer and closer to the birth of Jesus and then learning about the celebrations followed by celebrations that followed. It’s a perfect Christmas reminder that amid all the busyness and business of the season, our anticipation is a baby in a manger.

As a bonus, this link will take you to a Parent Connection page that includes three discussion questions about the book and Bible references for you to read.

This is a great book to read with young kids during the Christmas season. It chronicles all aspects of the beginning of the gospel story - Mary becoming pregnant, an angel being sent to Joseph, baby John jumping for joy in the womb, the census count, the birth in the stable. This puts the story in basic kid language without leaving anything out. This would be a great addition to a holiday bookshelf!

Christmas is Coming is a perfect book for families during the Christmas season. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Jesus’ birth and how important this day is for us all. Not only does it explain the Christmas story, but even includes a page about creation and another about the prophets, which shows children how it all comes together.
I love how the text flows, which makes it easy for even the youngest of children to stay interested. Definitely a book to read together as a family and enjoy!
(I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. The review is mine. Thank you B&H publishing!!)
#netgalley
#Christmasiscoming

Probably not my favorite way of explaining the Christmas story and visually not my preferred aesthetic. I can see that many people would enjoy it though. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital review copy.

Christmas is Coming! is an exciting book that tells it's readers how and why Christmas is coming and that it was all part of God's plan. I liked how the book explained why we need Christmas and that God informed people all along of what was to come. The pictures were beautiful and helped to make the book that much more engaging. This is a lovely book for families to read during the Christmas season. It's also a great book to read for a family devotion or a classroom setting. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

Thanks to Netgalley and B&H Kids for a free digital copy for my review.

A sweet walk through some Bible stories to show that God had a plan to bring Jesus to us for Christmas. It relates the plan of God with the celebration of today in a beautiful way with amazing illustrations.

A simple and easy to follow along children's Christian story on the birth of Jesus and the connection with Christmas. For being a Christmas story and about Jesus, I think it did a great job explaining the nativity story in a kid friendly way. It went along with wonderful illustrations and easy to read text. My children are not raised in the church and they are unaware of the teachings of the Bible and they found this story interesting. We're a pretty well rounded family in terms of religion and we believe in at least learning about most teachings and concepts and I thought this was a great story for them to finally learn about. Whether you are looking for an actual story or something Biblical to teach your children, I think this is a great book to choose.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

I thought that this book had some lovely illustrations but it missed the mark for me with it being a story telling the birth and arrival of Christ whilst saying Christmas in Coming throughout – which does get a little repetitive and it did put me off as a parent.

At the time the story was told Christmas was not celebrated so I have mixed feelings with this, Mary, the shepherds, the three kings - none of them called it Christmas.

For me the book needs to be the story of Christ and the birth of Jesus or a story about Christmas – it does not work as both. It has a good basis but needs a bit of work that said it does have some lovely illustrations so it is 3 stars from me for this one, the plot itself needs work.

Starting from Genesis then moving on to the Prophets, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, and others this looks at how people were anticipating Christmas coming for years, and just what that means to all of us.

I love how this connects Christmas to the Old Testament and how Jesus was the fulfillment of promises from centuries before, and hope for salvation. A fabulous, succinct retelling of the Bible stories related to Christmas accompanied by charming illustrations. Highly recommended to Christian families and schools for a Christmas read.

Unlike many Christmas books, CHRISTMAS IS COMING by Tama Fortner showcases the holiday as it was chronicled throughout the Bible. Beginning with Genesis and humanity's need for a Savior to save people from the power of sin, Fortner includes Old Testament prophets and angels in addition to the usual gospel characters: Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, her baby John, shepherds, more angels, and the wise men.

This adorable picture book will be a great addition to young children's libraries and will foster opportunities for family conversations about the birth of Jesus! I highly recommend.

The Christmas story is told here, linking the story of Jesus' birth to the very beginning in Genesis, onto the prophets and to the fulfillment in Christ. Beautiful pictures in board book form perfect for little hands.

Lovely imagery. Good length for a 3yr old. Maybe a little hard for a 3yr old to understand how the plot is woven together though. I look forward to seeing what his comprehension is like next year.

Such a sweet book that goes through the story of Christmas with sweet verses and the repeat phrase Christmas is Coming.

Used 2022-23. Accurate ethnicity. My favorite toddler-level overview of why Jesus had to come - it touches on creation/fall/redemption, as well as the prophets, before moving into a nice retelling of the Christmas story. Includes Mary's visit to Elizabeth.