The Biggest Story Bible Storybook

 

Published by Crossway, who kindly sent me a copy to review, TheBiggest Story Bible Storybook is loaded with colorful artwork by Don Clark and kid-friendly Bible stories retold by Kevin DeYoung.

Immediate orders might make it in time for Easter, but these timeless stories bless readers anytime, especially because they show the connection of the biblical books with Jesus. As the Introduction says:

“The Bible is filled with many stories – some sad and some scary, some happy and some holy…. But ultimately there is one story. And it’s a true story right down to the smallest details. The one story is the Biggest Story, and it’s all about Jesus.”

“Jesus is the one that the Old Testament foretold….”

“Jesus is the one that the New Testament makes clear is the Messiah…. the Son of God…. the Son of Man…. the exalted Lord…. the Word made flesh…. the heir of all things…. our God and Savior….”

“He is the theme. He is the goal. He is the good news.”

Divided into seven parts, the first one – the Pentateuch – covers stories in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Part 2: History touches on the major stories from Joshua through Esther. Part 3: Poetry briefly highlights Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, and Part 4 provides a peek into The Prophets.

Almost half of the book is devoted to stories from the New Testament -The Gospels, the Acts and Epistles, and Revelation. One of the most important is taken from Luke 25, “Jesus Lives,” which takes us through the first holy week, from Good Friday through Easter – the week where we are now!

“Jesus knew he was going to die and that he wouldn’t stay dead.

“Friday was dark and sad. Saturday was stone-cold silent. But Sunday – the third day – was not just another day or another week. It was another age. A new time had begun. The Biggest Story had turned a page. The world would never be the same.”

This story never ends! But the retelling concludes, as each of the stories does, with a prayer:

“We thank you, God, for the resurrection and the new life we have in Jesus. Amen.”

May God bless your Holy Week and your continued reading of God’s Word.

 

©2022, Mary Harwell Sayler

 

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The Children’s Bible retold

The Children’s Bible published by Hendrickson Bibles, who kindly sent me a copy to review, offers the colorful artwork of Jose Perez Montero to illustrate approximately 300 Bible stories retold by Anne de Graaf.

Written on a third to fifth grade reading level, the stories proceed in chronological order, introducing children to biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, poets and prophets, and, of course, Jesus and the first peoples of the church. We see the beginnings of creation, the fall of mankind, and the need from the start for a savior.

Each well-told story helps young readers get to know God as the Lord interacts with people in scenes a child can relate to or circumstances they can envision.

To draw readers into the story, the author uses active verbs, easy-to-picture nouns, a conversational tone, and other good techniques found in the best fiction. At times, this requires imagining how a scene might have been, for instance, “In the evening, Moses wandered among the families.The children ran up to him and he gave them all a pat on the head.”

This type of picturing makes readers feel as though they’re “there” too, which is ideal in helping children relate to biblical heroes, put themselves into the action, and see the importance of trusting God, which, in turn, helps to build faith and character.

The only problem with this method is that liberties must be taken since the Bible does not say that kids approached Moses or that he ever gave them any notice. For that reason, I wish the book had been titled The Children’s Bible Storybook, which would show that it’s not intended to be a new translation into kidspeak.

Despite that objection, I highly recommend these “retold” Bible stories and artwork as they do exactly what a good book for children should do – get them interested in the content, which, in this case, will most likely lead them toward a trusting relationship with God.

Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, poet-writer, reviewer

The Children’s Bible, hardback