The illustrations are lovely and the story is a reminder of the reason for celebrating Christmas. This book is most likely not, in many details, an accurate account. The most important points of the kings coming from afar to seek the King of Kings and give him gifts are indeed in the book. Although baby Jesus may not have had much use for the frankincense and myrrh, they would be useful in later days when his body rested in the tomb for three days before his resurrection.

I always love to read about Jesus' birth. The pictures in this book are beautiful! The characters seem to have personality. I just don't like when people extrapolate on the Bible. Sure, one of the wise men COULD have been a coal walker, and maybe King Herod DID have breath that smelled like Pine-Sol, but no one knows for sure. And kids will think, because they read it in a book, that those things are facts. Also, the star being in their eyes instead of the sky was really weird and unbiblical. I would not read this to my children. I might show them the pictures as I read from the Bible or retell it from memory.

I thought the illustrations were beautiful in this book but I didn’t care for the way the story was written. I appreciate the opportunity to read it but I couldn’t recommend it.

If you are looking for a different twist to the classic nativity story, this gorgeous picture book is for you. My hope is that my students will ask questions and try to learn more about the wise men after reading the story from their perspective. It is the perfect addition with its vibrant illustrations to add to your Christmas collection. I will buy a copy to share with children I love both personally and in my library.

This beautifully illustrated book lovingly tells the story of the Three Wise Men with a unique and different twist. The story includes aspects that would help a child to relate to the story, such as common features of everyday life--the smell of food cooking, the feel of a newborn baby when held in one's arms. My favorite part of the book was when the Wise Men were given the Baby to hold, and felt His presence in their lives. The illustrations add value and meaning to the story with their colorful and sometimes humorous nature. Even a young child would be able to tell the story based on the pictures. This book would be a good way to lead into the winter holidays, as well as a perfect gift selection for families to share.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely mine.

This story wasn’t a bad one but it took a little too many liberties away from the actual story for me. While I liked the descriptions, I felt that they along with the vocabulary in general were too advanced for the intended audience. The grammar was not working for me either.

A retelling of the Christmas story from the perspective of the three wise men! While I enjoyed it I felt like more could have been added.

Beautiful illustrations. Well written story that gives a bit of a different edge. Perfect Christmas gift for the kids or grandkids. I enjoyed it.

I loved the illustrations in Home by Another Way, but the story left me cold. It was not what I expected. It felt dark and strange. This is not a book I would buy for myself or my granddaughters.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing - just beautiful. It's sad that the story isn't really any good. I was very disappointed in it. Obviously, every author has to take a little license because the Bible itself does not go into great detail, but this author chose to portray the three wise men as foolish (one existed by only eating herbs steeped in water, another spent his life and fortune doing nothing but learning the ancient language - whatever that is - as the last one expended all his efforts to learn to walk on hot coals). Seriously? That's the best backstory the author can come up with for such iconic figures? Wow. SMH Then, Herod is portrayed as being bad just because he's fat, lazy, and has bad breath. Um, okay? Mary, Joseph, and Jesus himself play such a tiny role in the story that they may as well not be there at all. In the end <spoiler> the wisemen lose their desire to eat herbs & water, forget all they learned of the ancient language, and no longer want to walk across hot coals.</spolier> Really? That's all they learned from their encounter with the Christ Child? Again, SMH with nothing to say.

If you're looking for beautiful pictures to use to tell the story of the wisemen, absolutely pick up this book. If you want a nice story to read to your kids - try something else. Not recommended.

Thanks for NetGalley for an electronic copy. (The book did not display properly on my updated Mac, but was fully displayed on my old iPad.) I found myself reading scripture after reading this slightly different version of the Three Wise Men. According to some legends, they were possibly from three different locations, but it is not specified in the Bible. The idea of them each receiving the star light separately is intriguing. This book does a good job of depicting the sitting/lounging king as someone to avoid. An interesting idea, but I still prefer more literal versions.

This beautiful picture book gives a new look at the story of the Wise Men told in the Gospel of Matthew. The detailed images and descriptive language complement each other, telling how first they feel something is missing from their lonely lives of studying, then their curiosity as they meet and follow the star, before the wonder as they find it in the eyes of a tiny baby and bow down to worship him.

This was such a refreshing take on a Nativity retelling and really reflected the journey the wise men took, both physically and spiritually.

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Home by Another Way is Barbara Brown Taylor’s interpretation of one of the most well-known Bible events, the journey of the wisemen. She has taken the short Biblical narrative from Matthew fleshing it out with feeling and emotion. Told in a flowing prose and expressive illustration the story comes to life. Well done, this children’s book should become a favorite Christmas read aloud for many years to come.

The illustrations in this story are great overall, and evoke the story of Jesus from the Three Wise Men's point of view very well. What I find very odd throughout the story is some of the phrasing used - it often feels a bit like in the middle of telling the story, the author uses a phrase or sentence that is very for a 'tell' than a 'show' as to what is happening in the story ('the point was', 'which was clearly where the star was calling them', 'this made perfect sense'), or that just isn't believable for how the characters would talk (no-one would ever ask about other kings in the 'general area', for example).

There's also a disappointing couple of occasions where, instead of a double page spread, the text is on a single page opposite a single page illustration, which disrupts the feel entirely of a book that otherwise merges text and illustration across a double-page spread.

Let none of that take away from how superb the illustrations are - they really are the highlight of this book.

At first glance, this looks like the perfect Christmas book, and finally one about the wise men! The illustrations are stunning and I wanted to continue reading just because of them. However, it’s the story I have an issue with. It tries too hard to be a ‘modern’ retelling and becaus of that the words and story do not come close to matching the beautiful illustrations. I was sadly disappointed. I will not be recommending or purchasing this book as it is.

I've read many picture books telling the story of Christmas, but this one is unique. It tells the story of the three wise men, rather than the story of Jesus' birth being the main focus. This is an interesting take on the story, and it's fun to read this well-known story in a new way. I liked the perspective.

This is a wonderful retelling of the biblical story of the arrival of the Wisemen to see the Baby Jesus. Using the Star of Bethlehem to guide them, they arrive at the home of Mary and Joseph to see the baby, Jesus Christ, Son of God. This is a fictional retelling of the story, but I like that it shows their arrival at the home, not the Inn as is often depicted in many Christmas Pageants and other Nativity stories. It begins with their leaving, speaking with King Herod, arrival and presentation of the gifts and their leaving and travelling another way. I loved the beautifully detailed illustrations and how they supported the story. I will definitely add this book to our Church Library as well as my family Christmas library.

This is a delightful retelling of the biblical account of the journey three wise men took to see baby Jesus, Son of God, under the divine guidance of a star. The author thoughtfully filled in gaps of the wise men's story with fictional details meant to entertain children. With beautifully detailed illustrations, this is a work of reality-based fiction children would surely enjoy, especially at Christmas.

This is a humorous retelling of the story of the wise men. I was disappointed, however, not to be able to view any pictures in the ecopy I downloaded, either of the two times I tried. Because most of the book was illegible, I can't give much of an opinion of it.

In Home by Another Way, Barbara Brown Taylor uses her characteristic wit in a familiar story of the wise men seeking the Christ child.

While the story of the wise men is not new, this telling of it has unique descriptions that will stand out and draw readers in. When the king has learned a new ruler has been born, he suggests "they should go to Bethlehem at once -- with his blessing -- on one condition: that they come back and tell him who his successor was so that he could, um, send flowers to the new king," which perfectly captures the threat the king feels at this news as well as how disingenious his words are.

One particular aspect I appreciated is that the illustrator has not white-washed the characters -- they all look like actual Middle Eastern individuals could have appeared.

While the biblical accounts of the wise men with the Christ child are brief and don't include specifics of their conversation when they part, my favorite part of the book was when the wise men share the gifts, by way of blessings, they received from Jesus. It's engaging to consider how this meeting could transform their lives and start a new trajectory of meaning and study.

I am ever gathering holiday books into my home and retiring others to better curate our Advent reading pile, and this would be a perfect fit in our library.