Customer Reviews

Children's Bible in 365 Stories (Leatherflex)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

My sons have outgrown their story Bibles (The Beginner's Bible The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories and On-My-Own Reader Bible On-My-Own Reader Bible (New Living Translation Bible Story Series) and The Young Reader's Bible The Young Readers Bible: 70 Easy to Read Bible Stories ). I tried the Day by Day Kid's Bible (Day by Day Kid's Bible: The Bible for Young Readers (Tyndale Kids)), which I like a lot, but it just seemed like a little much for the 5-8 year old crowd. I was looking for something more mature than the Beginner's Bible, but less mature than the Day by Day. In that regard this book is a success. I think it is the perfect level for my kids to understand if I read it to them (though some kids at this age would have trouble reading it independently. I would say Read-Aloud level K+, independent reading level 3+).

However, the problem is that I feel like the author took just a tad too much artistic license in her prose. I found myself reading it with a stack of other Bibles on hand (KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, etc.), comparing the stories to the scripture and thinking with a cringe, "I'm not sure about that." Many of them were just tiny little discrepancies that sort of tugged at me. For instance:

God Makes the World, "Long ago, before time began, our world was dark and desolate. Then God began to create order and beauty. First he commanded light to break into the darkness and there was light. Next he ordered the raging oceans to go back, so that dry land appeared." The prose is beautiful, but it gives a sense that the world was already there and God... improved it?

The Tempting Fruit, "When evening came, they did not hurry out to meet God. They were ashamed because they had disobeyed him. They picked some large leaves to try to cover their bodies, and then hid silently in the bushes. Every other evening they had eagerly waited for God's loving call. Now they listened in fear for the well-known sound of God's voice. At last they heard him. 'Where are you, Adam?' God called. With downcast eyes, they crept out to meet the God they no longer wanted to see." No longer wanted to see? The scriptures convey a sense of shame, which she conveys beautifully, and a sense of fear and loss, but instead of a sense of loss she indicates that they don't want to see him anymore. ?

The Two Brothers, "God looked at the fine offerings they had brought, and then he looked at the at the two brothers themselves. He saw the kind of people they were. He knew that Abel loved and trusted him, so he accepted Abel and his gift. But God refused Cain's present. He could not accept Cain because he was cold and proud and self-willed." I'm just not seeing in the scripture this kind of deep analysis of Cain's intentions. Here are the three translations that I have handy (nearest my computer desk) of Genesis 4:5, NKJV "but he did not respect Cain and his offering", NASB "but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard", and NIV "but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor". To say that Cain didn't offer his 'best' seems to be a commonly accepted interpretation, but to say that he was 'cold and proud and self-willed' seems like a bit much.

I want so much to like this book! It is beautiful language. But I can't get past the nagging thought that it isn't quite right.

This is the second copy of this Bible that I've purchased; the first fell apart from enthusiastic use. My daughter loves me to read a Bible story to her each night, and the illustrations in this Bible pull her into the story (though not every story is illustrated; there are usually about 2 stories/readings per page, and only one gets the full page illustration). The writing is fairly straightforward, though I have had to modify some vocabulary on the fly (she's only 4). The fact that there is a story for every day of the year inspired her to want to read "the whole Bible" in one year, which just warmed my heart. We're well on our way to completing this Bible by the end of 2006. When we get there...we'll start over again!

The author has done a good job of picking really important Bible stories to convey. Rarely have I thought, "Why was this included?" or "Why was this left out?"

Understand that it isn't perfect; there are some typos in this Bible. And though I recommend this Bible highly, also understand that the language lacks the richness of Vos' Child's Story Bible or even the Golden Children's Illustrated Bible. But I believe that it's an effective step between the "baby" Bibles and these slightly more mature works that I've mentioned. I'd say that in a year or two, it'll be time to move on to the Child's Story Bible. But this writing style and daily story approach has served us VERY well for a couple of years now, and I recommend it without hesitation to others.

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.

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.

I have never written a book review before, but I love this book so much that I just had to let people know how great this Children's Bible is. I am a home educator and I did a bit of searching before I purchased this on Amazon. We own both the Catherine Vos children's Bible (too much added commentary and not enough pictures) and the Children's Illustrated Bible (not complete enough--omits many important events and people), but I really prefer The Children's Bible in 365 Stories to give a good, relatively complete overview of Bible history without having to spend lots of time each day doing so or putting the kids to sleep. I have used it in daily devotions with my 7 and 10 year olds this year. It is the perfect level for both of them. I think it would work well with even younger and older children. I learned a lot myself and enjoyed the writing style. It sticks pretty close to the flavor and meaning of the Bible accounts without a lot of added commentary and details that aren't in the original, but puts them into a very readable "story" form. It is a good way to see the "big picture" of Bible history by allowing you to cover so much so quickly. This is the only kid's Bible I know of that even includes a little bit about minor prophets like Jeremiah and Amos!! And most importantly (especially for little ones) it has at least one picture for every 2-pages, so no matter where you open the Bible, there is always a picture to look at. We are studying ancient history this year and I wanted to study Bible history along with it. This has worked out very well. The "daily readings", as they are set up in this Bible, are very short, so it is possible to read 2 or 3 a day in order to finish in 9 months instead of a year. We ended up finishing the Old Testament and starting the New just as we started studying the ancient Romans!!! I thought this worked out pretty cool, since of course Jesus was born during the Roman Empire. ! I hope this helps someone.

I am a student from Germany and I also did not know too much about the bible. With the help of this book I got an excellent insight both into the Old and the New Testament. The book is very readable (even for someone whose native language is not English). Highly recommended both to young children and to students new to the bible!!!!!

I have been very impressed with this book. It covers the Bible in more detail than I expected. The stories, based on chapters in the Bible, are a good length for bedtime reading. The book is written on a level that my 5 year old can easily follow, yet will be able to absorb even more of the meaning of the stories as she gets older. The artwork is very attractive as well.