Over the years, we’ve collected a variety of kids’ Bibles. There are the ones from my own childhood, some of which are very old and falling apart. There are ones we’ve gotten as gifts and others I’ve gotten for review. And out of those Bibles have emerged five that the girls read over and over again. Here, in order from easiest to hardest (or for youngest children to oldest), are our five favourite kids’ Bibles.
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As a child, my biblical training consisted of mealtime grace and bedtime prayers. It wasn’t until church youth group that I discovered a wealth of inspiration and encouragement awaited me within the pages of God’s Word. I knew that when I had my own children, I wanted to do things differently. My desire was for them to grow up knowing about real miracles, the wonderful heroes of faith and God’s love for a fallen world – a desire that is a biblical mandate. ~ Lynne Thompson, “Draw Your Children Into the Bible“
#1: My 1-2-3 Bible Storybook
My mom got this Bible for Sunshine for her first birthday, but all the girls have enjoyed it. It includes 12 Bible stories, from “One Special Baby” to “Twelve Spies,” with a mix of Old Testament and New Testament stories.
My 1-2-3 Bible Storybook is a great way to introduce toddlers to the Bible. Even with simple text, it has some great lessons for little children. For example, the story about “Three Days in a Fish” teaches children about obedience:
God told Jonah to do something. But Jonah did not obey. Jonah needed to think about obeying.
Bonus: The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook
The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook isn’t a complete Bible, as it focuses just on the Nativity story. It’s a beautiful retelling of that story, with cute illustrations, brief prayers and actions for children to do while the story is read.
“Our Christmas” helps young children understand the Christmas story and apply it to their own lives. There’s also suggestions for “Baby Bible Moments Together.” We got this Bible when Sunshine was a toddler. Now, she’s reading it to her younger siblings, and helping them with the actions. It’s still one of our favourite kids Bibles.
#2: My First Handy Bible
Jade loves taking this Bible to church, partly because the handle makes it so easy to grab and carry. My First Handy Bible is full of cute pictures (which even I appreciate) and includes more stories than My 1-2-3 Bible Storybook.
The other night, Jade picked it for her bedtime story and we read it cover-to-cover. I love the way it packs so much salvation history into stories and language understandable by children. It’s also neat to hear Jade’s reactions to the stories; she’s always sad on the page where Jesus dies so I try to make His resurrection on the next page more exciting.
#3: The Preschoolers Bible
This Bible was a gift to the girls from a friend at church. When Sunshine was beginning to read more than just her phonics readers last year, this was often the book she grabbed. It’s also one of our favourite kids Bibles to read aloud with the younger girls.
Bright, colourful pictures cover most of each page, with a paragraph telling the story. The Preschoolers Bible is a great transition between board book Bibles (like the two above) and bigger Bible stories (like the next two).
#4: Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times
Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times is a fun kids’ Bible that sets Bible stories to rhyme. The stories include detailed, fun pictures that held the girls’ attention while I was reading. In fact, I wanted to stop on each page to look at the pictures myself!
It’s a great Bible for family story time, with enough pictures to keep younger kids engaged and enough story to teach older kids.
#5: The Gospel Story Bible
Sunshine has now grown into this Bible, a beautiful, hardcover book intended to help children discover Jesus in the Old and New Testaments. I like the way each story points out God’s plan of salvation. There is always a connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as important lessons to be learned from the stories, and author Marty Machowski brings these alive in The Gospel Story Bible.
BONUS: LullaBible
Sunshine wanted me to include this book on our list of favourite kids’ Bibles. LullaBible: Baby’s First Bible Stories and Songs is a mix of poetry, prayers and songs about the Bible, with pages for Mom to write memories (which I haven’t). This was another gift from my mom, for Sunshine’s third birthday, and she often grabs it to take to Mass. It includes a CD with songs from the LullaBible, like “God Is So Good” and “Angels Watching Over Me.”
As parents, God entrusts us with the great responsibility and sacred privilege of teaching our children not only about Him, but also how we should live our lives. When our kids have questions … we have the privilege of coming alongside and counseling them, but we also get to teach them to ask God for wisdom and direct them to the Bible for answers. ~ Ramona Vincent, “Why Our Kids Need the Bible“
What are your favourite kids’ Bibles?
4 Comments
I’m so glad you had you have this list. Little mama’s bibles are great, but she needs a change as we’ve been reading the same ones over and over. The preschool bible would be perfect for her ! And I love the handle on the My first Handy bible! So cute. It’s so important that our faith lessons start young. And in the words they understand (along with fun pictures for them). Our favorite bible for little mama right now is the Day By Day Bible. And she also loves prayers and devotionals.
Jesus story book Bible is our ultimate favourite!
I second that our 4 year old loves it. It well written too. There are also DVDs that go with it.
We are also big fans of the Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm. There is also a companion family devotional available. The copy we got also included CDs of the author reading it which our kids have listened to several times.
This is a great post. Sharing on my Facebook page for later in the month. Thanks.