• Age: 2 to 6
• Grade: p to 1
• Reading age: 2 to 6

"One starry night, In a stable very small…"

Goodnight Jesus is the story of the Nativity of Jesus created for children in pictures and verse. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are there, the cow, the donkey and lambs are there, the shepherds and their sheep, the angels, the star, and the Kings with their camels are all there too. It is the full Nativity scene as seen in creches (a model or tableau) all over the world. This gentle and beloved story is for the children, and for all of those who read it to them.

The author, Judy Andry, remembers putting the creche under the Christmas tree as a child. On their honeymoon in Quebec in 1959, the first purchase she and her new husband made together was a pottery creche, with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and a small lamb. They have put it out every Christmas since then. When their three children were young, they needed a less breakable creche, so they purchased one made entirely of wood which the children arranged under the tree each year, with a star hanging above it. Much later, on travels, they begin collecting creches of all different kinds which have become a major part of their Christmas decorations and traditions. Because of this lifelong affection for the creche as a reminder of Jesus’ birth, when someone casually mentioned that a Goodnight Jesus book had never been written, the author knew immediately she would like to make that happen. Judy Andry’s enchanting poem, and Leanne Franson’s beautiful illustrations bring this timeless story to life.

Though written for children ages two to six, this Christmas book filled with joyful rhymes, stunning illustrations, and adorable animals will be cherished by people of all ages who celebrate this day.

Judy Andry, mother of three, grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of five with more on the way, is retired and spends her time, along with her husband, Allain, between New Orleans, Louisiana and Asheville, North Carolina. She was inspired to write this book for her great-grandchildren. They, along with their children and grandchildren, have enjoyed the many unique crèches she and Allain have collected since buying their first crèche on their honeymoon in Quebec in 1959.

Judy Andry's profile page

Leanne Franson spent her childhood winters in Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, building snow forts while her dad watched hockey games on TV. She was a really bad skater -- but she could draw really well! In 1991, after she finished her BFA in Montreal, she started illustrating books. Leanne is fluently bilingual and has worked on books in English and French, illustrating in total over 100 picture books, chapter books, and textbooks. In 2012, she and her teenage son Benn returned to Saskatchewan, where she draws and makes ceramics in her acreage studio.

Leanne Franson's profile page