Children's Bibles

In this review by IX Marks, several children's Bibles are reviewed by Justin Taylor. Some friends whose theological judgment we trust had recommended The Big Picture Story Bible to us for toddlers, so we bought it and started reading it to our daughter before she turned one-year old. And indeed, it has been everything we had hoped for, with a big picture view of God's plan to bring His kingdom, just enough text but not too much for a child her age, helpful questions along the way, and detailed illustrations that keep both children and adults paying close attention.

But as much as we love The Big Picture Story Bible, we recognize its limitations too. Our daughter is now a very precocious two-year old, and soon we will want more text and more detail from the biblical narrative in the children's Bible that we use. So when we saw a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible during a recent trip to a bookstore, we took a long look while our daughter ran amok in the children's play area.

And we were impressed. While preserving the big picture storyline of the Bible that culminates in Christ, and offering helpful illustrations, there is more explanation. This will help our daughter learn the Bible stories and connect them to the cross. So when Zondervan asked for bloggers to write about The Jesus Storybook Bible (and thereby enter a drawing for free copies), I was happy to oblige. The Jesus Storybook Bible will be the next Bible we use as our little girl continues to grow.