*All reviews are from online reviews*

On the last day of November, young Joakim, shopping for Christmas with his father, sees an advent calendar in a bookstore with its 24 windows to open, one by one, every day in December until Christmas Eve. But this will turn out to be a magical calendar... Instead of the figures that these calendars usually contain, every day little pieces of paper fall out that tell the story of Elisabet, a girl who has been lost. From here on, the story will take us on a trip through Europe in the company of a group that a new character joins every day. It is a trip in Time, backwards, until reaching the very portal of Bethlehem. As always happens in Jostein Gaarder's books, this one contains mystery and stories within stories, like little boxes that we open. In this case, each calendar window will be...

What a lovely book! Travelling back in time from 20th century Norway to the birth of Christ with angels, shepherds and magi! ( )

Very enjoyable, very childlike, simple but satisfying. I actually tried not to read it too quickly so I could savor it a bit more. ( )

What a lovely little book - a reminder of what Christmas is (or should be) all about.

This book is centred around two stories: a child opening the doors in an advent calendar and the disappearance of a young girl many years earlier.

A small boy buys an old advent calendar - each day, another door is opened and a little more of the story is told. It can hardly be a surprise that we follow the Christmas story each day, but we also work through the mystery of a child (Elisabet) who vanished years earlier and follow her story also. Each chapter is another day, another door, another instalment of the Christmas story and another instalment of Elizabet's story.

I read it, just like that - each day I read the appropriate chapter, turning the book into my advent calendar. I'm not particularly religious, but I found it quite a nice way to lead into Christmas, to look at the story behind it rather than just the commercial gift giving frenzy.

It's a magical little book and could easily be read to a child as part of the lead up to Christmas, it is obviously religious, but not in a doctrinal manner, more about truth, hope and joy and what should be the Christian message. ( )

A bit early to read Christmas stories, but I wanted to have read this book before sending it out on a journey again through BookCrossing.
I loved it. The Christmas story, a bit of magic, some Christian thoughts, all packed in an interesting story. One day in the Advent period means one part of the whole story. That is difficult for Joachim, trying to hide the story from his parents. How the story goes, both in present and in the story from the calendar, well that's something you'll have to read for yourself.

I liked it a lot, even though it may be 'only' a children's story. ( )