Certain Poor Shepherds
By Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Simon & Schuster, $15
ISBN 0684833131
Also available on audio from
Simon & Schuster Audio, $12
Audio ISBN 0671574388
Review by Jeannie Crawford-Lee
In Certain Poor Shepherds, author Elizabeth Marshall Thomas truly brings a new dimension to the story of the Nativity. These poor shepherds are animals -- Lila, a dog, and Ima, a goat -- who together tend their master's flock of sheep. Thomas's keen observations of animals and insights into their ways inform this unusual narrative and authenticate the animals' intelligence, sensitivity, and feelings as no fanciful anthropomorphic animal tale ever could.
Lila and Ima set out to follow the strangely powerful star they have observed in the sky. The odors and sounds, the interactions with other beasts, with humans, and with angels as Lila and Ima progress put a new framework around the familiar story. Linger over this intriguing story illustrated with ten woodcuts by Andrew Davidson.
Jeannie Crawford-Lee is a writer and editor.
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