Harpercollins Publishers Recall Children's Book, "Christmas In The Manger"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), HarperCollins Publishers, New York, N.Y., is voluntarily recalling about 46,500 copies of the children's book, "CHRISTMAS IN THE MANGER," by Nola Buck and Felicia Bond.

The book, which is for small children, depicts the Christmas nativity story and incorporates textured surfaces on each picture page. The page showing the Three Wise Men is decorated with three, colored, plastic, artificial, jewels pasted to the page. The plastic jewels may separate during use and are small parts, which present a potentially serious risk of being aspirated into a small child's lungs.

The publisher reported to CPSC when they learned of two instances where the artificial jewels became detached. Neither the firm nor CPSC is aware of any injuries involving the book. The recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injury.

The book measures approximately 6 inches by 6 1/2 inches and incorporates seven heavy paper pages plus the cover held together by a white, plastic, spiral binding. The front of the book bears the title, "CHRISTMAS IN THE MANGER," along with the names of the author and illustrator and shows the manger scene, while the back of the book reads, "HarperFestival A Division of HarperCollins Publishers *** Manufactured in China."

The books were sold by Walden Books, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers nationwide from September to November 15, 1994, for about $9.95.

The books should immediately be taken away from young children and returned to the store where purchased for a refund of the purchase price. For more information on this recall, call HarperCollins at (800) 538-8856, or the CPSC at (800) 638-CPSC.

The firm may correct and continue to distribute their inventory of the same books by substituting paper for the plastic jewels. The corrected books would not be subject to this recall action.