My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories [Hardcover]

Heidi Hess Saxton (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2010 | Age Range: 6 and up

My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories is a Catholic family treasure!

With almost 200 stories, this book is an excellent resource for children and families to grow together in their faith and knowledge of Catholic tradition.  It uses selections from the actual text of the highly respected and readable New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, including stories from the Deuterocanonical Books.

Along with stories from actual Bible text, My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories includes additional elements.  Each of these elements will help encourage the child to talk to God, to understand the meaning of new words from the passage, to learn quotes from saints and other important figures, and to go deeper in their faith by cross-referencing the CCC and applying the lesson to their lives. With its thorough teaching of Catholic faith, Bible stories, and classic art, this Bible Storybook will be a welcome addition to Catholic homes, schools, and churches.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Heidi Hess Saxton is the founder of "Extraordinary Moms Network,” an online, faith-based resource for adoptive and foster moms, and mothers of special needs children. She is a columnist at CatholicMom.com and CatholicExchange.com, as well as author of several books including Raising Up Mommy.

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400315387
• ISBN-13: 978-1400315383
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Children's Books > Religions > Christianity > Bible

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Children Love It! January 27, 2010

By Patrice Fagnant-macarthur VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I was so excited to get "My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories" in the mail. Well- known Catholic writer and editor Heidi Hess Saxton has done an incredible job pulling this valuable resource together. Over 175 Bible Stories have been culled from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition text. To supplement these, Saxton has included an introduction, a prayer, and a "Going Deeper" section for each story. The "Going Deeper" features further references relating to the story and actions one can take to further one's knowledge or put the Bible lesson into practice. For many of the stories, there are also "Did You Know?" features which add a little bit of extra information, a "Quote of the Day" from a saint, or "Special Words" which emphasizes vocabulary one might not be familiar with. She has also interspersed pages dedicated to Catholic prayers.

"My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories" is attractively designed, with kid-friendly headings and color-coded sections. The beautiful illustrations by Natalie Carabetta only add to the experience. This is a book that children will greatly enjoy looking at and sharing with their parents. It is primarily targeted to the 7 - 12 age range, although children younger and older could certainly benefit from it. I heartily recommend "My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories" to any Catholic family searching for a kid-friendly Bible. Perhaps the best endorsement is how much my two boys (ages 7 and 8) enjoyed looking through this book. They said it was much better than the kids' Bible that they currently have!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Catholic Kids' Bible Ever! May 1, 2012

By Nicola Manning TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Reason for Reading: We start our homeschool lessons with God. Including a reading from the Bible. I had seen this book recommended on a Catholic mum's blog (she no longer blogs, I think) and was utterly taken by her review, so I checked the book out online and purchased it immediately.

I read a "story" to my son every school day and with almost 200 stories, we have been reading the book for about a year. As is always important to me when using Catholic materials with my son, the book does have a Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur. The book begins with a letter to children from Mother Teresa and then a 2 page introduction by the compiler explaining how the book is set up.

Each "story" is a two page spread, though the second page just includes the illustration and the extra interactive material. I should now mention, that though this Bible is divided into "stories" they are not reinterpretations dumbed down for children; Instead what we have are actual passages from the NRSV Catholic text of the Bible, plus the Bible contains stories from the Septuagint, the Holy Canon.

This is the best Bible Story book I have read aloud to my children ever. Ds enjoyed our readings from this Bible and it will be a Keeper for our household. Briefly how a reading is set up. Each reading starts with a title followed by the scripture reference where it can be found. Then there is a blue box of text which introduces the background/people to be read about. This includes either some instructional material or something to think about. Then we have the Bible "story" taken verbatim from the NRSV Catholic text. This is followed by a prayer, which could be a traditional Catholic prayer, one taken to revolve around the scripture reading or a prayer from a Saint.... On the opposing page is an illustration along with a "Did you know?" This can range from the definition of an ancient word in the text, Bible history, modern related information or word origins. Finally there is a Going Deeper section which includes two activities 1: Read it which directs one to a reading in the CCB and 2) Do it! which has a craft or , charity or thought discussion to perform. Every now and then between the stories there comes to be the "big" Catholic prayers to be prayed that day: The Apostle's Creed, The Rosary, The Angelis, St. Francis & St. Patrick's prayers, etc.

Another thing I particularly enjoyed were the selections from Revelation. Usually, childen' story books only include the one scene from Revelation of what the Kingdom of Heaven will look like. This Bible has five readings taking one simplistically through Revelations main theme. Highly recommended and as I said above, a Keeper for my shelves. Read more ›

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource February 4, 2010

By elena maria vidal

Format:Hardcover

It is the book I have been searching for, edited by a reliable Catholic author, Heidi Hess-Saxton. In My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories, each story is just the right length for reading before bedtime. And I love the way Heidi works in psalms and prayers as well as quotes from the catechism. It is great for our home religion class, too, and can be read into the teen years. The illustrations are helpful in conveying the story to young children, and has already inspired some lively discussions.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Like No Other July 26, 2011

By smurphy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love that this book uses actual bible text so the kids get used to hearing it. I read it to my 3 and 1/2 and almost-2-year-old, and I have to explain a little as I read it, but I think it is important to read the actual Word of God to our children and not merely watered down summaries of Bible stories. It has good pictures for the kids to look at while you read also. And every page has a prayer that goes along with the text as well as further scripture readings related to that bible verse.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! December 6, 2010

By Laura

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

We use this Children's Bible as part of our home school curriculum. My son and I both really like it and I find it fills a need in Catholic Bibles - it is much more in-depth than a preschooler's Bible, but is easier to read than a teen Bible.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One for Every Home, Parish, and Classroom January 31, 2010

By Lisa M. Hendey VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

With My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories, noted author Heidi Hess Saxton has given Catholic families and parishes everywhere a tremendous treasure. References from the Catechism, inspirational quotes from the saints, and suggested family activities make this a perfect faith formation tool for children and parents alike." Having had the opportunity to read and share this beautiful book, I am now more convinced than ever that every Catholic family, school and parish should have a copy of this fantastic resource.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good read, but poor quality artwork January 1, 2013

By Wes

Format:Hardcover

We bought this for our 3 year old so we could begin reading him Bible stories every night. While I appreciate that this book does not 'dumb it down', it makes it a little more difficult for young children to grasp. Our son was too young to be interested in the stories because he didn't understand them. The text is a very good resource, so hopefully he will be into it more once he is older.

The most disappointing thing about this book are the pictures. Now please understand, I'm not trying to be mean here, just honest, but a lot of the pictures are poorly done, and there is one of the Virgin Mary that is especially disappointing.

So to sum it up: We appreciate the text and the effort put into this book, but wish the same amount of attention had been given to the artwork.