Genres
Description
Joachim discovers a magic Advent calendar which contains the story of a little girl who traveled through time to be present at the birth of Jesus.
Language
Original language
Norwegian (Bokmål)
Original publication date
1992 (original Norwegian)
1996-11 (English translation)
Publication
Oslo : Aschehoug, 2007
Pages
272
ISBN
9788203243929
Similar in this library
Awards
CCBC Choices (1996)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Eric_the_Hamster
A beautiful telling of the Nativity. It is also suitable for reading to children. Treat it like the Advent calendar it refers to by reading a chapter a day in the run up to Christmas.
LibraryThing member Skywolf
This is a charming, easy read, but it doesn't match up to Gaarder's previous standard. It's much more light-hearted than some of his other books, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I personally love Gaarder's writing best when he's tying your brain in knots with mind-boggling concepts.
This
This
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book doesn't have that aspect to the same degree, but it's still a sweet book which makes perfect Christmas reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member cfbookgroup
This book inspired us to talk about Christmas and how it makes us feel. The difference between a child's view of Christmas and and adult's. Some of us found the story, especially the time travel element to be a little strange, our comments were that it was a touch repetitive and that the mystery
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ending resolution was a little unclear. But we did like the concept and could really imagine it as a cartoon. The book would have been great with a map in it, showing the route that the party travelled. A Norwegian book in translation may have been one of the reasons that we found some of it hard to latch on to. But there was magic in it, especially in the angels. Show Less
LibraryThing member littleboris
I like reading this book instead of using an advent calendar,as each of the chapters are a day in December. Nice, mystical tale that captures Christmas.
LibraryThing member TheBentley
This is a very sweet Christmas tale, a twist on the Christian nativity story by the author of Sophie's World. It would be a fun read-aloud book for young school-age children, especially if you read a chapter every day of December, like the family in the story does. That said, this is purely a fun
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Christmas lark. It doesn't live up to Sophie's World, or even The Solitaire Mystery, especially for adults. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
When Joachim and his father go looking for an Advent calendar on the last day of November, they end up with one that a mysterious flower seller has left in a local bookshop.
The book is divided into 24 chapters, one for each window of the Advent Calendar, so if you are going to read it during
The book is divided into 24 chapters, one for each window of the Advent Calendar, so if you are going to read it during
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Advent, you can read each chapter on the right day! Show Less
LibraryThing member SheReadsNovels
The Christmas Mystery begins in Norway on 30th November when a boy named Joachim discovers a hand-made Advent calendar in a book shop. The next day, when Joachim opens the first door, he finds a tiny piece of paper telling the story of a little girl called Elisabet who spots a lamb in a department
As Elisabet, Ephiriel and the lamb move closer to Bethlehem and further back in time, they are joined by an assortment of other Biblical characters including shepherds and Wise Men. A little more of their story is revealed every day through the pieces of paper hidden in Joachim's advent calendar, but as the tale of Elisabet's journey unfolds, Joachim and his parents become involved in another mystery: the mystery of John, the mysterious flower-seller who made the magic Advent calendar and the real-life Elisabet who disappeared on Christmas Eve in 1948.
The book is divided into 24 chapters, with each chapter representing one door on the Advent calendar. If you have children, the structure of the book would make it perfect for reading aloud, one chapter per day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This is not really a 'children's book' though - it's one of those books that can be enjoyed on different levels by people of all ages. As with all of Jostein Gaarder's books the story introduces us to a large number of philosophical ideas. We also learn some interesting historical and geographical facts about the countries Elisabet passes through on her way to Bethlehem.
Although this is not as good as some of Gaarder's other books such as Sophie's World or The Solitaire Mystery, it has to be one of the most unusual and imaginative Christmas stories I've ever read.
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store. The lamb begins to run away, but Elisabet is determined to stroke it and chases after it. The lamb leads her outside and into the woods where she meets the angel Ephiriel, who explains to her that she is now part of a very special pilgrimage to Bethlehem - not only will they be travelling across land, they will also be travelling back through time to the day when Jesus was born.As Elisabet, Ephiriel and the lamb move closer to Bethlehem and further back in time, they are joined by an assortment of other Biblical characters including shepherds and Wise Men. A little more of their story is revealed every day through the pieces of paper hidden in Joachim's advent calendar, but as the tale of Elisabet's journey unfolds, Joachim and his parents become involved in another mystery: the mystery of John, the mysterious flower-seller who made the magic Advent calendar and the real-life Elisabet who disappeared on Christmas Eve in 1948.
The book is divided into 24 chapters, with each chapter representing one door on the Advent calendar. If you have children, the structure of the book would make it perfect for reading aloud, one chapter per day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This is not really a 'children's book' though - it's one of those books that can be enjoyed on different levels by people of all ages. As with all of Jostein Gaarder's books the story introduces us to a large number of philosophical ideas. We also learn some interesting historical and geographical facts about the countries Elisabet passes through on her way to Bethlehem.
Although this is not as good as some of Gaarder's other books such as Sophie's World or The Solitaire Mystery, it has to be one of the most unusual and imaginative Christmas stories I've ever read.
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LibraryThing member JenMDB
This book is best read as an Advent calendar: start it on December 1st and enjoy a chapter of this journey through "a stack of pancakes" one day at a time.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
While shopping for an Advent calendar in a Norwegian town, a young boy and his father discover a one-of-a-kind calendar in a bookshop. Joachim looks forward to opening each day's door to learn more about a little girl, Elisabet, and her companions who are on a journey across Europe and backwards
I easily read this book in a single day, but I think it would be more pleasurable to read a chapter a day throughout December leading up to Christmas. Some of the chapters become repetitive, a useful feature if you're reading the book over a 3 ½ week period but a flaw if you're reading it in a short period of time. Besides its obvious use for religious instruction during Advent, this book could also be used to introduce children to some of the events and key figures in European history.
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through time to be present at Christ's birth in Bethlehem.I easily read this book in a single day, but I think it would be more pleasurable to read a chapter a day throughout December leading up to Christmas. Some of the chapters become repetitive, a useful feature if you're reading the book over a 3 ½ week period but a flaw if you're reading it in a short period of time. Besides its obvious use for religious instruction during Advent, this book could also be used to introduce children to some of the events and key figures in European history.
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LibraryThing member elliepotten
This is an odd one to review, because... well, nothing Gaarder writes is ever simple, is it? It's a story within a story, an advent calendar within an advent calendar. A little boy called Joachim finds a handmade advent calendar in an old bookshop and takes it home. Every day when he opens the next
As you may know, I'm not remotely religious, but my Decembers at school as a kid were filled with nativity scenes and carols and colouring in pictures of the Three Wise Men, just like every other child, so I was mostly able to overlook the occasional heavy-handed religious moment and focus on the themes of peace and goodwill and general festivity. The arrival of an exuberant and rather unorthodox cherub called Impuriel definitely helped, as well as the fact that the chapters are short - about 7-11 pages - so it never got overwhelming. It became a lovely morning ritual throughout December, reading that day's chapter over breakfast, opening my own advent calendar at the same time as Joachim opened his!
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door a folded piece of paper falls out, slowly telling the story of a little girl called Elisabet who runs away from a department store in the late 40s and ends up on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Each day the pilgrims, including shepherds, angels, sheep and the three Kings of Orient, run across countries - and across time - adding new figures to their ranks as they go, with the aim of reaching Bethlehem at the time of Jesus's birth. At the same time, there's an ongoing mystery about a grown-up Elisabet who's ALSO missing... Suffice to say that in classic Gaarder style, all is sort-of cleared up by the end, with a whopping side helping of BUT MAYBE...?? As you may know, I'm not remotely religious, but my Decembers at school as a kid were filled with nativity scenes and carols and colouring in pictures of the Three Wise Men, just like every other child, so I was mostly able to overlook the occasional heavy-handed religious moment and focus on the themes of peace and goodwill and general festivity. The arrival of an exuberant and rather unorthodox cherub called Impuriel definitely helped, as well as the fact that the chapters are short - about 7-11 pages - so it never got overwhelming. It became a lovely morning ritual throughout December, reading that day's chapter over breakfast, opening my own advent calendar at the same time as Joachim opened his!
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LibraryThing member Cassandra2020
What a lovely little book - a reminder of what Christmas is (or should be) all about.
This book is centred around two stories: a child opening the doors in an advent calendar and the disappearance of a young girl many years earlier.
A small boy buys an old advent calendar - each day, another door is
I read it, just like that - each day I read the appropriate chapter, turning the book into my advent calendar. I'm not particularly religious, but I found it quite a nice way to lead into Christmas, to look at the story behind it rather than just the commercial gift giving frenzy.
It's a magical little book and could easily be read to a child as part of the lead up to Christmas, it is obviously religious, but not in a doctrinal manner, more about truth, hope and joy and what should be the Christian message.
This book is centred around two stories: a child opening the doors in an advent calendar and the disappearance of a young girl many years earlier.
A small boy buys an old advent calendar - each day, another door is
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opened and a little more of the story is told. It can hardly be a surprise that we follow the Christmas story each day, but we also work through the mystery of a child (Elisabet) who vanished years earlier and follow her story also. Each chapter is another day, another door, another instalment of the Christmas story and another instalment of Elizabet's story.I read it, just like that - each day I read the appropriate chapter, turning the book into my advent calendar. I'm not particularly religious, but I found it quite a nice way to lead into Christmas, to look at the story behind it rather than just the commercial gift giving frenzy.
It's a magical little book and could easily be read to a child as part of the lead up to Christmas, it is obviously religious, but not in a doctrinal manner, more about truth, hope and joy and what should be the Christian message.
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LibraryThing member tgraettinger
Very enjoyable, very childlike, simple but satisfying. I actually tried not to read it too quickly so I could savor it a bit more.