Baby Jesus . . . Messiah! translated into the Amharic language, is retold by Janice D. Green and illustrated by Violet V. Vandor. Baby Jesus . . . Messiah! gives an extended account of the birth of Jesus Christ which begins with a child-friendly explanation of the word Messiah, followed by Angel Gabriel's announcement of John's birth to Zachariah and Gabriel's visitation to Mary announcing the virgin birth. The account includes Mary's visit with Elizabeth, Joseph's coming to accept Mary's unexpected pregnancy, Mary & Joseph's trip to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, and the shepherds' role in the event. The story ends with the the wise men who saw the star, traveled from a distant county, inquired about the baby king in Jerusalem, then followed the star to Bethlehem where it led them to the house where Jesus lived a few months after his birth.

Children and adults alike will enjoy reading these thirteen mini-stories. A link included in this book offers a free downloadable PDF file of the illustrations as coloring pages for classroom use or for making crayon-colored quilt blocks. The Amharic download also includes puzzles (in English) and directions for making the fabric quilt blocks.