He Said: Children's Bible Suggestions

I have been leading a Family Faith Formation discussion group on Wednesdays at church.  Recently, we started the discussion on why it's so important to teach our children that the Bible is a Story and not just a book full of propositions.  Susan has already posted her thoughts on the power of Story here.  Here is another good article on the Bible and children from the blog Bread Not Stones.  I recommend reading both posts before you look at the Bibles.  

Anyway, it is essential for our children's faith to help them understand what the Bible is and is not!  One of the parents in the group wanted me to recommend what Bibles to use with children once they move up from board and toddler Bibles.  I took a stack of Bibles with me and talked through the pros and cons of each one with those parents.  Here are my feelings on each one:

THE RHYME BIBLE

 The Rhyme Bible Storybook by Zonderkidz is a good Bible to use when you are transitioning from reading board books with your toddler to reading with your preschool age children.  Like it say in the title, all of the scriptures have been simplified into rhymes which makes for easy reading and remembering.  It also simplifies by narrowing the included stories to the main basics.  I like that it includes the story of Esther so there is at least one hero who is not a boy!  The main thing I don't like about this Bible is the illustrations.  Everyone is white!  Eve is blonde!!  Not showing the people of the Bible with darker skin and hair is one of my pet peeves (the events of the Bible took place in the Middle East and Mediterranean!).  The Rhyme Bible Storybook is pretty easy to find stocked at Barnes & Noble or your local Christian bookstore.  It's about $18 if you buy it off the shelf, but you can find it on Amazon for Christianbook.com for around $12.


THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE

The Jesus Storybook Bible is another Bible by Zonderkidz and is relatively new (copyright 2007).  I really like that it starts off with an explanation of God's Story.  The author takes time to introduce that everything in Creation tells and helps us understand God's Story, not just the words put into the Bible.  She also explains in terms children can understand the common perceptions of what the Bible is (a set of rules, a book of heroes), but makes clear that we are to understand the Bible as a huge, sprawling, story of what God has done that includes people, adventures, some rules, mistakes, and even bad behavior by those people.  I like the artwork in this Bible.  The people definitely look less White/Anglo-Saxon and more Mediterranean/Middle Eastern.  My main issue with using this Bible is it's focus on making every story in the Old Testament be about Jesus.  I'm all for making connections, but I can still hear my OT professors from seminary saying, "Jesus is not in the Hebrew Scriptures!  They were not written for Christians!"  The author is also very focused on the theme of rescue which is definitely a valid Biblical theme.  God did rescue the Israelites over and over from various situations, but there were also times when God didn't rescue them and let the natural consequences of their actions play out.  The rescue theme also bothers me when it comes to the Cross.  I am not a proponent of Substitutionary Atonement theory (the idea that Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for all of the sins of humankind), especially when it comes to teaching children.  When I am introducing God to children, I don't want to associate God with violence.  How you deal with those ideas is up to you though.  It depends on your theology of the Atonement and what you think and feel about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.  I'm just telling you how I feel about that.  The Jesus Storybook Bible is easily found at you local retailers.   You can get it from Amazon or Christianbook.com for less than $10.  

THE SPARK STORYBOOK BIBLE

The Spark Storybook Bible is published by Augsburg Fortress.  This is the Bible that we use for preschool through Second Grade classes at my church.  It is designed to be used with the SPARK children's Sunday School curriculum.  It paraphrases 150 Bible stories but doesn't lose the intent or details of the stories.  The language is very accessible and easy for children to understand.  The illustrations are a little cartoonish, but at least they depict the characters with dark skin colors (can you tell I'm big on depicting Biblical characters in their appropriate culture?).  I also like that the authors give simple questions for further thought or instructions for an activity that connects the story to real life at the end of each story.  The only thing I don't like is the "expressive caterpillar, Squiggles" that the illustrator puts in the pictures that accompany each story.  They put him in so the children have someone to relate to, but I would rather give kids the opportunity to relate to the actual Biblical characters.  Overall, a really good Bible for younger kids.  You can purchase the SPARK Story Bible from Augsburg Fortress or Amazon for $20.  

EVERLASTING STORIES
This is currently my favorite children's Bible!  I would recommend it for older children though who are, at the very least, out of preschool.  The reason I would save it for older kids is because it doesn't leave out sections of the Bible that deal with difficult subjects.  It covers all the familiar and foundational Old Testament stories like Creation, Noah & the Flood, Abraham & the Covenant, Joseph & Egypt, Moses & the Exodus, David & the Great Kings, Jonah & the Fish,etc.  What I love though is that, unlike most children's Bibles, it includes the stories that detail how Israel fell apart into Northern and Southern Kingdoms.  It includes stories from the Exile after Israel is conquered and God's people are forced to leave their homeland.  I especially love that it includes the story of Hosea, who God raised up to be a prophet, but required him to marry a woman who was an adulterer who cheated on him.  That sounds like a story that parents should be uncomfortable explaining to children, but Hosea's faithfulness to his marriage is a beautiful picture of God's enduring faithfulness to us, his children who constantly stray from our relationship with God.  Another thing I love about this Bible is it's use of poetry from the Psalms and the Prophets to enhance the telling of the stories.  In the OT especially, it will pair up Psalms with the stories they refer to.  For example, the Creation Story includes quotations from Psalm 24:1-2 (The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it...) and helps put that Psalm in it's proper context while also making the telling of the Creation Story richer.  Everlasting Stories also includes a brief introduction to each Testament that helps the reader understand the types of literature in the Bible, how the writings were gathered together, and in what original languages we found those writings.  Finally, I must say that the illustrations in Everlasting Stories are simply amazing.  I love that all the people, especially Jesus, look Mediterranean or Middle Eastern.  Beyond that, the pictures in the book are seriously artistic.  It's like reading an ancient illuminated Bible with your children. Unfortunately, Everlasting Stories is not found on bookshelves at Barnes & Noble or your local Christian retailer.  The best place to find a copy for your family is at Amazon.com or Abebooks.com where you can find this amazing Bible for as little as $1 plus shipping.  Talk about value for your money!


THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION

Finally, for your older elementary kids or kids who read very well, I would recommend getting them a CEV Children's Bible.  This particular version, The Children's Illustrated Version, is published by the American Bible Society, a Bible translation initiative.  They created the CEV with the hearer of scripture in mind, not just the reader.  The CEV "has been described as a 'user-friendly' and a 'mission-driven' translation that can be read aloud without stumbling, heard without misunderstanding, and listened to with enjoyment and appreciation, because the language is contemporary and the style is lucid and lyrical" (quoted from the introduction to The Children's Illustrated Version).  This is not a paraphrase.  You get the Bible in it's entirety, but it is easy to read and helps make children comfortable with the Bible.  There are no Thees or Thous in this translation!  The illustrations are kinda dated and cheesy, but this Bible was published in the mid-1990s.  It is out of print, but you can still find it at Amazon or Christianbook.com for around $15 or you can go to used book sites like Abebooks.com and get it for $1 plus shipping.  

Well, there are the Bibles I would recommend.  I hope this helps your family find a Bible that you will use at home!