Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes, Full
Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes, Full
Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes, Full
Voices of Christmas
Copyright © 2009 by Nikki Grimes
Illustrations © 2009 by Eric Velasquez
BT315.3.G75 2006
232.92--dc22 2006012787
All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian
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Printed in China
09 10 11 12 • 5 4 3 2 1
Written by Illustrated by
Nikki Grimes Eric Velasquez
Gabriel l w as
sen t by
bri e
es ix th month the angel Ga
th
In
He is gone now,
but still my bedroom walls beam
brighter than moonrise.
My spine tingles from his touch.
Such heat pulsing from white light!
Voice deeper than echo,
he spoke to me
familiar words from prophecy:
“The Master is sending Man
a baby. A boy. A King. His Son!”
Then he added impossibly,
“You, Mary, will be the one
he calls Mother.”
Then he was gone!
Now I, alone, remain
rooted to this dirt floor,
dizzy with wonder,
pinching my wrist,
waiting to wake
from this dream.
Joseph i nga
r igh t eo u s m a n a nd
ph, be
Her husband Jos e
a c e ,
is gr
ic d t ly.
l ie
unwi
llin g to expose her t
o pu
b
h e rq u
mi ss
planned to d
is
There is little sleep
for me tonight,
only tossing and turning
and mourning over Mary.
I’ll have to send her away now.
How could I marry a girl
who is having someone else’s baby?
Why has she done this to me?
If only I could sleep, maybe then
I could find answers in my dreams.
“Joseph,” an angel says to me,
“take Mary as your wife.
The life inside of her
comes from The Everlasting One.
He is the Messiah, God’s own Son
and you will call him Jesus.”
Moments later I awake,
certain as sky that I’ve had
more than a dream.
I wait for this mighty mystery
to unfold.
For now, this one thing I know:
I am ready now to do
whatever Jehovah
tells me to.
Elizabeth e to a Ju d e an
ast
In thos t h h
e days wi
M ar y we nt
he
d t
th .
be
e
town in the h e nta
er
ill country, where she liz
house
of Zechariah and greeted
E
Heavy as I am,
I sail above the ground.
My magic carpet? Joy!
Any day now, I will have a boy,
God be praised!
What will Cousin Mary say,
me an old woman
with a baby on the wayÑ
a boy who will lead men
to the Messiah?
I havenÕ t long to ponder.
Mary arrives at my door
with news more miraculous than mine.
The babe in my belly leaps
to let me know
it is MaryÕ s boy
mine will lead men to,
MaryÕ s son who will be
the Holy One.
Then, all at once,
my voice rings out with prophecy:
Ò Hear me, Mary:
More than any other woman,
you are blessed.Ó
Zechariah or yo ur p
n,
r
a
ay
n
e
d
r
y ou
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, f so
y oua
Your wife Elizabeth will bear
I saw her,
belly ripe to the touch,
her baby ready to drop
at any time.
And yes, I watched Joseph
cinching wineskins
to his donkeyÕ s saddle,
wondered why
he was dragging that poor girl
to Bethlehem.
Someone from the family
had to go, of course.
The Emperor made it plain:
all must register for the Census.
But surely Joseph could have
registered for them both.
Still, gossips say
Mary would not stay behind.
God keep them both.
The journey ahead
is a maze of rough road
and danger in the dark.
I fear their future
is marked with trouble.
The
Innkeeper rn son and
And s
t bo
he gave birth to her firs
See here!
My inn is splitting its sides
with travelers,
the spare rooms swallowed up
by Roman soldiers, merchants,
and who knows who!
Don’t blame me.
The young girl with belly
round as a drum
was not the only one
forced to come to Bethlehem.
But, since her husband
rapped upon my door,
I led them to a dry spot
in my stable,
and a bed of hay
on which to lay themselves.
It was the most I could offer,
other than to share
my own, warm room.
And who would care
to do that for strangers?
It’s not as if they were royalty, right?
A stable would do for the night.
g e r,
m an
wrapped him in in a e inn.
band h
s of cloth, and laid him in t
because th
he m
as no place for t
ere w
Shepherd eph e rd s livin g in the
there were sh
e g io n
h at r
In t
fields, keeping watch ove
rt heir f
l ock
Who could forget it? by nigh
The sky a cloak of velvet t.
stitched with stars, we shepherds
studied the heavens
while our sweet sheep rested safe I wondered, Why come to us?
in the pen we’d built of whatever rocks We are not priests. But then,
we could find. And there I was I remembered King David,
leaning against a tree how God drew near to him who
cradling Moriah, a wee lamb once was a shepherd too.
tuckered out from wandering off again. “You will find the child lying
My feet burned from the chase. in a manger,” the angel said.
Then suddenly the sky blazed We fled from the hills
with the light of an angel. to search for
“Be not afraid,” he said. this wonder, this holy child.
“To you is born this day You ask if we found him.
a Savior, the Messiah.” What? Did you not hear us
Moriah stirred at this voice like thunder. shout for joy?
Gaspar d , w is e men from the east
n King of the Jews?
ero
ng H o r
Ki as b
In the time of ho w
h il d w
i s s t a r at its rising
he c
Ò W h er e i s t ed h
erv
.Ó
ob s
We
as rn e
K ing H hi s, hew d lea
erod heard t an
en
Then Hero se m
d se i
them the ex
cre t ly called f or t h e w
p ear ed .
act t a p
ime when the star had