The Grumpy Shepherd Changes His Tune

Ever since Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, a frequent theme in Christmas stories has been the transformation of an irritable, antisocial character into one who is joyous and fulfilled. In Paddie Devon’s The Grumpy Shepherd, that person is Joram, a burly, surly shepherd who roams the hills outside of Bethlehem, looking after sheep he can’t stand. His fellow shepherds, Obed and Josiah, are happy enough with their lives, but Joram grumbles at every turn. Then, when an angel visitation leads his friends and him to the manger at the inn in town, Joram begins to have a change of heart...

Devon writes in prose, with a paragraph or two on most pages, though those without illustrations have more text than that. The first letter on most of the pages is extra-large and offset in a box with a simple illustration behind it. For instance, one page features a star in this box; another shows a jeweled crown. There are 15 of these, though the images repeat, so there are only half a dozen different pictures, including the top of a shepherd’s staff - which I at first thought was a snake, and I was trying to figure out how that fit in - and a piece of pottery.

The writing is fine, albeit a little simplified. I find it a little strange that the Biblical quotes are rewritten to sound slightly more contemporary and down-to-earth. The effect for me is that the announcement of the angels doesn’t sound nearly as majestic as it should. Additionally, the book specifically has Gabriel introduce himself as the leader of the contingent of angels appearing to the shepherds. While I don‘t think that this is the first book to incorporate Gabriel into this scene, the Bible never identifies him as playing a part in it, making him seem slightly out of place. I do love the choice of names for the shepherds, though.

Devon’s illustrations have an appealing warmth to them. They feel cozy with all that bright light pouring down out of the sky and the shepherds all bundled in layers of warm robes, their faces protected by thick beards. The sheep all look drowsy, while the shepherds have more animated expressions on their faces, generally cheerful for Josiah and Obed and cantankerous for Joram, whose arched eyebrows make him look especially menacing.

The climax of the book could have been written a little more smoothly for maximum effect. Seeing Jesus in the manger has an immediate effect upon Joram, and he returns to his sheep full of purpose and zest for life, but it all happens so instantaneously that it doesn’t have the strength that it could. A similar transformation is handled better in The Last Straw, which focuses on Hoshmakaka, an ornery, haughty camel who journeys to Bethlehem with the wise men. I’d recommend that first, but The Grumpy Shepherd is still a cute Christmas book with a worthwhile message.