A review of children’s storybook Bibles we’ve read

As a Christian parent of young children, it’s important to me that my children are exposed to the Bible and the rich stories within that tell of God’s character and redemption plan. The scriptures themselves are the best source, but sometimes, starting with a storybook Bible with simple language and attractive illustrations is helpful as a stepping stone. Storybook Bibles can help whet their appetites and prepare them to receive the Word itself.

However, when used inappropriately, such when it is used as a substitute for the Bible itself, storybook Bibles can end up moralising the stories in the Bible, or obscuring the bigger picture of the gospel from the eyes of the reader because of how it is naturally incomplete. We should exercise caution in how we use them in our homes, particularly, teaching our children that these books tell stories from the Bible, but are not the Bible itself. They are helpful in our understanding of the Bible, but cannot replace drinking directly from the Living Word, the Bible.

How to choose a children’s storybook Bible

In choosing a children’s storybook Bible, I look for books that are accurate to the actual Biblical text, and do not simplify stories to the point of obscuring the overarching story of redemption. The litmus test for me is this: does this story point to the human characters in it, or does it point to God?

Where the book comes with illustrations, the quality of the illustrations is also important to me. The pictures the children see will be food for the images they form in their mind, so it is important that they receive the best, and not garish, cartoony, images. I also appreciate illustrations that are culturally accurate to the way people looked and lived in Bible times.

Below I’ve reviewed the various children’s Bibles that have passed through our home, and we’ve read with our children. This is by no means a complete list of everything out there, but represents only what we have personal experience with. We use these for reading during Morning Time, family devotions, and just in the course of our everyday.

I wrote this post so that other parents may have a fellow parent’s perspective on these books, so that they can consider it in deciding which to use in their family. If you have other suggestions or reviews of children’s storybook Bibles that you’ve read, do leave a comment below!

Jump to:

The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy and Trish Mahoney

This storybook Bible is aimed at very young children, with short stories and large colourful cartoon-style illustrations on every page. We used this for daily reading for a while, and managed to finish the book at least 3 times (doing one story a day). My then 18 month old was able to sit through these stories without becoming disengaged.

What I liked:

• Language is accessible to young children
• Illustrations captivate their attention
• It’s an entry point to become familiar with the characters and their stories

What I didn’t like:

• Some of the stories felt “thin”, and were lacking in substance as to why such a story is included in the Bible
• The author tries to include other “learning points” like counting, colours, etc which I did not appreciate, as it took the focus away from the great story of the Bible

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago

This was the “it” children’s Bible for a while, and has many fans. It also has its critics, who mainly criticise how the storybook Bible focuses only on grace, and speaks nothing about man’s sin and need for repentance.

Personally, I do not think a storybook Bible should be used in a vacuum and so it can still be a useful tool even if we have to look elsewhere to learn about the doctrine of sin (and the law). However, there are other issues with the book that made me like it less than I had hoped to. Overall, the language used made it hard to captivate the attention of my children with these stories.

What I liked:

• Every story clearly points to Jesus
• The stories are of a good length, not too short
• It does not only focus on Old Testament narratives, but includes plenty of more “obscure” and rare stories for a children’s Bible

What I didn’t like:

• The flowery language used is poetic but often flies over my childrens’ (and my) heads, especially because we do not fully understand the American context behind some of the references
• The lack of emphasis on the consequences of the curse of sin, and over-emphasis on grace without fully explaining the need for it in the first place

The Biggest Story Storybook Bible by Kevin DeYoung and Don Clark

We have the A to Z board book version of this, which I really enjoyed reading to the kids when they were babies, as it tells the overarching story of the Bible in 26 short pages (one of each letter of the alphabet)!

This Bible contains really elaborate illustrations, in an unusual style (not cartoony, nor traditional kids’ Bible stye), which are beautiful but also may take some getting used to. The objective of the authors is clear — to tell the unified story of the Bible. There are also helpful pages explaining the different sections of the Bible, providing context as to how they fit in to the big picture.

What I like:

• It’s massive. It contains so many of the lesser known stories from the Bible, which really help to illustrate how the Bible is one big story
• It contains a practical one-line prayer at the end of each story, which makes it easy to turn the conversation to talk about application – we read the Bible not just to receive, but to respond
• Each story is short enough to read in a single reading to young children (about 4 pages each, where the majority of the page is taken up by illustrations)

What I didn’t like:

• The main thing I didn’t like was how there were a lot of cultural references in the way things were described, which are irrelevant to us from an Asian / Singapore culture, and made it hard to relate to. Most of the time, I’d edit on the fly when reading aloud to the kids if the reference is one that we would not get
• Some people might find the illustrations difficult, while others may love the style

The Lion Easy-Read Bible by Christina Goodings and Jamie Smith

This was the first Bible that we read with the kids, and we’ve read it through so many times that the book is falling off its spine. It uses simple language and illustrations, making it accessible to even the youngest listener. It doesn’t try to do more than be a storybook Bible.

What I like:

• It’s simple and easy to read one story each evening at bedtime
• It doesn’t add to the stories by trying to be more than a storybook Bible

What I didn’t like:

• It is simplistic, and does not truly open the doors to the richness of scripture. That said, it can be a good first step, especially for a parent who is hesitant to read something much tougher to a young child at the start

The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine F. Vos

This is a storybook Bible frequently used in homeschool circles. It reads like someone telling you the story of the Bible, with lots of detail. It is lovely as a read-aloud. While I appreciate the level of detail here, the way the author brings in extra information without reference to it being from other parts of the Bible makes me slightly uncomfortable. There are also doctrinal positions that the author takes which are hidden within the text and a child may not realise is an interpretation rather than what the scripture actually says. While every storybook Bible necessarily takes positions in interpretation, this felt a little excessive.

If you are familiar with The Message Bible, this reads somewhat similarly. Do note that this Bible has only a few illustrations interspersed throughout the text.

What I like:

• The style of writing is as if a dear grandmother is sitting on her rocker, telling you stories from the Bible. I appreciate how this gives me a vision of how I can be telling my own children the stories from the Bible in my own words.
• It can be helpful to give a perspective on a familiar story, which might bring new insight

What I didn’t like:

• If I wanted my children to receive Bible stories in this style, I may read scripture myself and then retell it to them in my words, rather than use someone else’s
• While it is clear where the stories themselves are from in scripture (there are references), it is not so clear which parts of the story are added details and which parts are present in that passage itself

The Early Reader’s Bible (Bilingual English-Chinese)

To me, this is more of an early reader than a Bible storybook. It’s a great early reader to use with a child who is familiar with Bible stories, as they are able to use their prior knowledge as contextual clues to decoding the language. However, it is insufficient as a Bible storybook in itself, as the stories are too simplified and truncated.

What I like:

• Simple language and short stories makes it appropriate as an early reader
• List of vocabulary at the start of each story, including names of characters

What I didn’t like:

• It’s not suitable as a Bible storybook as the stories are watered down

The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook (Old Testament & New Testament) by Tyler Van Halteren

Available in two volumes, one for each testament, this Bible storybook is our current favourite. The overarching framework through which the books approach the Bible is “God’s Presence, With God’s People, In God’s Place, Through God’s Promises”. At the end of each chapter, there is a page setting out how the story links to these four elements, as well as a gospel link and a prayer. While we don’t use this page in our current reading (we prefer to let the story sit with the children, without need for further explanation), I can see it being helpful in the future as we study the scriptures more deeply together. In the Old Testament volume, there is also a timeline at the start of each chapter, which helps the reader to understand where in time this story takes place. For example, one child asked whether the Pharaoh in the story with Moses was the same Pharaoh in the story with Joseph, and showing the timeline helped them understand how much time had passed between the two stories.

What I like:

• Full stories with clear gospel link, without adding extra context or references to modern culture
• Rich illustrations on every page
• Timeline in the OT volume
• Accompanying audiobook available, which my children use in their own time

What I didn’t like:

• It’s heavy! I love how the books are linen bound with gilded gold edges and have a ribbon bookmark, which makes them look valuable, as the Word should be. However, it makes it a little more difficult to bring around and out of the house!