Gabriel’s Magic Ornament


Gabriel’s Magic Ornament , by Randall Bush
(Pristine Publishers, 2002), 110 pages; $11.95

This magical little book, written by my colleague Dr. Randall Bush, has become a Christmas favorite in my family. Dr. Bush has crafted a tale reminiscent of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia in which the fantasy land is itself the Christmas tree and the characters are the ornaments, all steeped in biblical imagery. Along the way the message of salvation (the true meaning of Christmas) is exposed with a very striking image of human captivity to sin (laboring in the cane fields), the holiness of God (“He is good and kind….  You must take him seriously, though, for he is not to be trifled with.”), and a beautiful description of heaven. Bush makes a clever use of names and symbols and includes a glossary in the back in case you miss the historical and biblical allusions.

The book is also available on CD. We have read the book and listened to it on CD, and my boys regularly ask to hear it again. I think my youngest was four years old when we first read it and he seemed to understand well and enjoy. I warmly commend it to all.

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