Children's Bible in 365 Stories

Fantastic....!

I looked over a number of bibles for my 4-yr old before choosing this one. This one reaches a good balance of being accurate without being overly graphic. For example, when the citizens of Sodom come to Lot's door, it says they "told Lot to throw out his visitors so that they could ill-treat them". Genesis 20 about Lot's daughters having relations with their own father is left out entirely. Aside from parts like that, which are inappropriate for children, it includes most every part of the bible, including references to the actual book and chapter. The gospels are understandably told as one continuous narrative. The letters of Paul are mainly left out (mostly not being narrative in nature). All in all, quite a complete bible with most graphic parts somewhat smoothed over.

My son had long ago out grown his toddler's bible and I felt he was ready for something with more depth that was also easy to read and understand. I'm not sure how many children's bibles that I looked during my last 3 trips to bookstores. I purchased this one because I liked the artwork and the three stories I read while at the store were right on track with the bible while written at a child's level of understanding. The phrasing and vocabulary are descriptive and clear. Reading this book has become part of our bedtime routine and has my 5-year old son sitting wide-eyed while he listens, frequently asking so many great questions about what we read. I think that most children will understand and grasp the story at 5-years old, but they may need a few of the words explained. It holds my attention pretty well, so I would say this book has a good life span and is well suited for children of 5 to 12 years old. An excerpt (about half a chapter) from Jeremiah, after he visits the potter: `Buy a clay jar' God told him, `and carry it to the city dump. Take some of the older priests and leaders with you.' The little procession wound its way out of Jerusalem, Jeremiah in front, with his water jar on his head. A crowd of inquisitive people followed. Men never carried water pots - they thought that was women's work! What would this strange prophet do next? When Jeremiah arrived at the dump he hurled the jar down with all his might, smashing it into hundreds of pieces. `Listen,' he told the crowd, `God has waited long and patiently for you to turn back to him. He wanted to give you good things. But instead of being soft like the clay which the potter can shape, you have grown hard and disobedient. If you do not turn back to God, you will be broken like the pot. An enemy will come and defeat us." Then Jeremiah climbed the steep path back into the city and preached the same sermon in the temple. The important priests and leaders were furious. How dare Jeremiah say that the country would be conquered? One of them gave orders that Jeremiah should be arrested, beaten and left in chains until the morning.

This bible is an excellent tool for reading the bible daily with your children. It is well written with excellent illustrations. Each story is short enough to read just before turning out the lights.

Our family (we have 8 children) has read a number of Bible story books. This one stands out to us as THE BEST. It is clearly written so that even the younger ones can follow well. Also, it is written in an interesting manner that the children always want more. A sign of a real winner! With the stories being so short there is always time to read at least one.

Although we have been using Batchelor's Children's Bible since our oldest daughter was three years old, she has really grown into it as she progressed through Kindergarten and First Grade. As the Chaplain of a Christian elementary school I am recommending it as a Bible Primer for our first graders to begin their own disciplined daily Scripture readings. The illustrations are artfully and historically authentic without being too complex for a young person's concentration. I highly recommend it.