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There’s a Lion in My Nativity! by Lizzie Laferton is a fun Christmas story about Mary, who thinks she is the star of the nativity play. But unexpected things—a tent, a phone, and a lion—keep stealing the spotlight and teaching important truths about Jesus.
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The costumes are ready. The lines have been learned. The nativity play is about to begin. And Mary — in her very important role, in her very important costume — is absolutely certain of one thing: she is the star of the show.
But something is going wrong.
One by one, unexpected characters and objects are stealing every scene. A tent. A phone. And — most puzzling of all — a lion.
What on earth is a lion doing in the nativity?
There's a Lion in My Nativity! by Lizzie Laferton is a joyful, witty, warmly illustrated, and genuinely gospel-rich Christmas picture book for children aged 4–7 — the kind of book that makes children laugh and then makes them think, and leaves them understanding something true and wonderful about why Jesus came. It is the perfect Christmas gift for young readers, and one that parents and grandparents will find themselves enjoying every bit as much as the children they read it with.
What makes this book so distinctive and so delightful is its playful structure. As Mary watches each scene of the nativity play get hijacked by an unlikely intruder, she is baffled and increasingly frustrated. But with the help of the narrator, she — and the young reader alongside her — gradually discovers that each unexpected element is actually teaching something profound about who Jesus is and why he came:
The tent — at first glance just a bizarre prop that doesn't belong — turns out to be a picture of the incarnation itself. Jesus did not come to dwell in palaces or cathedrals. He came to pitch his tent among us — to live with us humbly, in the ordinary messiness of human life.
The phone — modern, incongruous, and apparently completely out of place in a first-century Bethlehem scene — turns out to be a picture of connection. Jesus came to reconnect us to God — to bridge the gap that sin had made, to restore the communication that had been broken.
The lion — the most surprising intruder of all — turns out to be the most important. Because Jesus is not just a baby in a manger. He is the King of the universe. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The one before whom every knee will bow. The nativity is not the whole story — it is the beginning of the story of the King who came in humble disguise, and who will one day be revealed in all his glory.
By the end, Mary has understood — and so has the reader. Jesus is the true star of the show. Not because he stole anyone else's spotlight, but because he is the one the whole story is about.
Lizzie Laferton writes in rhyme — and she does it with the skill and energy of someone who understands that the best children's books are not dumbed-down lessons but genuinely enjoyable literary experiences. The rhymes are clever, the rhythm carries the reader through the story with momentum, and the humour is warm and genuinely funny — the kind that works for children and adults in the room at the same time.
Kim Barnes's illustrations bring the story to life with a distinctive quirky warmth that perfectly matches the tone of Lizzie's writing. The images are bright, expressive, and full of the kind of visual humour that children will pore over on every reread — finding new things they missed the first time through.
One of the most significant things that can be said about There's a Lion in My Nativity! is that it does what relatively few Christmas picture books for children actually do: it explains, clearly and memorably, what the incarnation actually means.
The tent, the phone, and the lion are not merely comic devices. They are theological images — unexpected and initially puzzling, but ultimately illuminating pictures of the humility, the reconciling work, and the kingly identity of Jesus. Children who work through this book with a parent or grandparent are not just enjoying a funny story about a nativity play. They are encountering real, substantive, gospel truth — presented in a way that they can grasp, feel, and remember.
This is the kind of Christmas resource that a church in India can give away at a Christmas event, a family can read every year as part of their Christmas traditions, and a grandparent can give to a grandchild knowing that it will still be treasured and meaningful a decade later.
"This is the Christmas book I have been looking for. It is funny, it is warm, and it actually explains the incarnation in a way my children can understand. We will read it every year." — Consistent reader response
"The lion is the cleverest bit. My children were so puzzled — and when they understood, they were so delighted. That's exactly what a children's book about Jesus should do." — Consistent reader response
Lizzie Laferton is a children's author and teacher who is involved in children's ministry at her church in Southwest London. She is married to Carl Laferton — Editorial and Content Director at The Good Book Company and the author of several Tales That Tell The Truth titles including The God Contest — and her writing reflects the same combination of theological care, accessibility, and genuine delight in the stories of Scripture that characterises the best of The Good Book Company's children's range. She is also the co-author of The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross Easter Calendar — a devotional resource for families at Easter.
Kim Barnes is a children's book illustrator based on the Isle of Wight, UK. Her illustrations for There's a Lion in My Nativity! have a warm, quirky, and distinctively expressive style that brings the comic chaos of the hijacked nativity play to life with visual humour, warmth, and a genuine delight in the characters and their expressions. Her work makes the book as much a pleasure to look at as it is to read.
