The Itsy Bitsy Angel

by Jeffrey Burton, Sanja Rescek (Illustrator)

Overview

A joyous Christmas nativity twist on the popular nursery rhyme “The Itsy Bitsy Spider!”

The itsy bitsy angel sang joy to the world,
sending good will to every boy and girl.
Out came a Star to chase the clouds away,
and three wisemen looked up and let the Star guide their way.

The itsy bitsy angel is ready to rejoice with every boy and girl. Little ones will love this first Christmas twist on the classic nursery rhyme “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534443402
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Series:	Itsy Bitsy Series
Pages:	16
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Jeffrey Burton has written several books for children. He lives in New York City with his family.

Sanja Rescek studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia. She has illustrated more than one hundred books, which have been published in more than ten different languages. Sanja’s illustrations have also been featured on cards for UNICEF.

Editorial Reviews

2019-12-18
The Nativity story is retold to the tune of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Burton and Rešček's latest attempt to exploit the popularity of the familiar nursery song shares many of the same problems found in their previous efforts (The Itsy Bitsy School Bus, 2018, etc.). The text tries to match the rhyme and meter of the traditional verse, but there are just too many syllables. "Out came a Star / to chase the clouds away" works, but good luck singing the next line: "and three wise men looked up / and let the Star guide their way." Similarly, rhyming "world" and "girl" requires a leap of faith. For no apparent reason, some words are set in a different-colored type from those around them. Rešček's illustrations of the desert Holy Land are greeting-card sweet, and most of the characters—the titular angel, shepherds, Magi, and baby Jesus—are pale, though there are a few secondary angels of color. The story begins with the angel announcing the tidings of Jesus' birth, leaving out the complexity of the original. Sturdy board pages may stand up to rough handling, but with limited seasonal appeal it's likely to languish more often than not. This simplified and sanitized retelling may, however, attract caregivers looking for religious stories to share with toddlers.

Both the song and Bible story are better in their original versions. (Board book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews