In the traditional Nativity story, angels appear to the shepherds, telling them to go pay homage to the newborn King. The next thing we see is the shepherds at the manger, but what happens on the journey there?
Rosalie Koepp ‘15, director of christian education at First Presbyterian Church in Hastings, reimagined the Nativity from the perspective of those shepherds into a children’s book, “While By Their Flocks.” The book, which was released on Amazon November 11 this year, follows three young shepherds on a transformational journey to meet the newborn Jesus, blending biblical imagination with themes of wonder, curiosity and childlike faith.
The idea for a book came from a musical written by Koepp and Hannah Jensen-Heitmann ‘15 for the church’s Christmas program in 2024, which you can watch on YouTube. Koepp and Jensen-Heitmann were education majors at Hastings College.
After the musical performance, Rev. Greg Allen-Pickett, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees, suggested the story would make a great children’s book. He put Koepp in touch with a friend who helped Koepp get the story on paper.
In the musical, three teenage girls played the shepherds, which she carried through to the book. Each of the three shepherds has a critical personality flaw: the not humble shepherd, the tired shepherd and the rude shepherd.
“When writing the book, I really tried to pull out those personality traits because in the musical, the shepherdesses go on a transformational journey,” Koepp said. “They have these flaws, but when they encounter the Christ-child, those flaws soften, and it shows how an encounter with Christ changes us in some way.”
She said what really excited her was when she got the first illustrations back from her illustrator Oshadi Sandareka.
“The first one I opened was just a black and white drawing of the three shepherd girls and two sheep, and I just gasped because they were so cute,” she said, noting that it was that moment the story in storybook form came to life.
While writing, Koepp reflected on her time at Hastings College as an elementary education and K-12 special education major, specifically her children’s literature class.
“We read hundreds of children’s books and it really helped teach me how to condense a story to put it in a way that children understand,” said Koepp.
Koepp said that class taught her to love children’s books because they are fun to read, look at and try to tell a story in a condensed way.
“I think that was a challenge I was really looking forward to conquering,” said Koepp. “I thought to myself, let’s see if I can do this.”
She said her time at Hastings College taught her to ask lots of questions and then use her imagination to find the answers — which was helpful when writing the musical and then the book.
“Rosalie and Hannah’s work demonstrates the powerful impact that creative educators can have on children and families,” said Allen-Pickett. “Their Hastings College roots are evident in their thoughtful approach to storytelling, collaboration and faith formation.”
Koepp said the way the book came together with the words and the illustrations is one of her favorite things about the process.
“I hope people will be able to see the sparkle on every page because when I look at the pictures, they just dance in front of me,” said Koepp. “And while there’s not singing coming through the book, it’s almost like you can feel the music.”
By Carissa Barwick, communications specialist