- a fictional tale of a man who sought Jesus his whole adult life
- some biblical facts woven into story
- gives visual of an application for Matthew 25:34-36
Type: picture book
Ages: 4-8
Author: Mig Holder
Illustrator: Tony Morris
There is an interesting note before the story begins:
This story is based on a legend first written down by a man called Henry Van Dyke more than one hundred years ago. It is not what we usually call a true story. But perhaps it is truer than many others because it reminds us what are the most important things of all.
Our main character, Artaban, was with the three wise men when they saw the star and planned their big journey. Because they didn’t want him tagging along, he traveled alone. It took him many years, but he eventually found him, learning important life lessons along the way.
By the way, we don’t know if there were three wise men–there very well could have been more. There’s no harm in reading this story to your children–in fact, it’s a good one!–but I do advise sprinkling into your conversations the fact that the common Christmas story they hear has many errors. 😉
This book is getting a little harder to find these days, but it’s around if you go on the hunt. There are also other versions based on this legend, but I have not read them myself. Happy book finding!