Customer Reviews

Children's Illustrated Bible

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I have been a catechist, teaching elementary school age children for over four years. I use this book extensively in my sessions with the kids, because they listen...intently. Rather than many dumbed-down, Disneyesque versions of children's Bibles that I have seen, and rather than the somewhat lame materials offered by our church, the Children's Illustrated Bible connects with kids. It does not insult their intelligence, but enhances it. The rich liturgies of the Old and New Testaments are brought to life with vivid portraiture and detailed factual explanation. Want to know more about life in the Middle East in biblical times? It's there. Want to know what type of wood might have been used in the Ark? Or what mountain range Ararat belongs to?

My students, ages 5-9, are harsh critics. When something isn't real, or interesting, or meaningful, they simply turn off. Too many of the standard cut, color and paste exercises last five minutes with them. But when I pull this book out to read the wonderful stories of Noah, Moses, the Flight from Egypt, Jesus calming the sea, and so forth - the kids listen with mouths agape. They strain their necks to see the beautiful illustrations and pictures.

This Bible is an excellent gift for god-children, for nieces and nephews, for your kids. Even if you are not religious, your kids will benefit deeply from hearing and reading the wonderful tales of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and step up their cultural literacy significantly.

An important part of our nighttime routine is our evening devotion and The Children's Illustrated Bible has been an important tool. This Bible has translated God's word into story-like form for children, but it is easy to find the Book/Chapter reference from the Bible. This Bible also gives the child the feel of the times, like showing plants, utencils, and statues that are mentioned in the story. This book has broken the Bible into short stories and user guides. A must have in every family!

This larger edition of the Children's Illustrated Bible has large pictures plus print that is big enough to be very easily read. (The smaller book, ISBN number 0-7894-5331-2, is about 2/3 the size of this book.)

The pictures are realistic and not the silly cortoon-like figures you see in some children's bibles. I have read through a few of the stories, and they are short, precise and very well written. Interesting background information is given and illistrated in the margins.

The high quality of the writting, the background information and the pictures deserve a 5-star rating. However, the book is not perfect. For instance, Hasting has Jesus teaching the Lord's prayer as "Our Lord in heaven..."

I ordered this book because of the positive reviews and the "fits in a child's hand size" comments. What no one else mentioned is that the typeface is commensurately small--so small that it is a strain to my 42 year old eyes. By bedtime with my 2 and 6 year olds, I'll be so tired I likely won't be able to read the type. It is about the size of the small font used in paperback Penguins from the UK---about a 6-point on my computer's Times New Roman, where a 12 point TNR is the norm for letters. If you have strong eyes, the book is lovely, and it is an easily held size. The illustrations, contrary to somewhat lackluster reviews by some readers, were lovely. I plan to return the small version and will order the full size.

Children's Bibles are probably the genre of books I read the most critically and carefully. These books of stories can greatly enhance our children's grasp of Biblical truth and build a frame in their minds for future Biblical learning to be added onto, or they can cause lasting damage through misrepresenting, undermining, or falsely teaching what the Bible is about. I had casually flipped through The Children's Illustrated Bible in stores and liked the realistic illustrations and informative sidebars with archeological, geological, and historical information and photographs. I was looking forward to a chance to review it, hoping that my opinions would remain positive after a closer inspection.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. I read every word on every page of this 309 page book. I put a sticky tab with notes on each page I had questions/issues with. There were a LOT of notes sticking out of this book when I was done.

What first drew me to this book were the realistic and detailed illustrations. While this was a strength with some stories, with others it was a definite draw-back. For example, while it is true that Adam and Eve were going "au natural" in the garden, I would prefer them to be a little more covered when my young preschooler reads her story Bible! Nor, do I want her to see a painting, classic or not, of baby Jesus being circumcised. And I most definitely don't want her to study and ponder a picture of Daniel in the lions' den, where the den has been accurately portrayed filled with human skulls, bones, and blood dripping down the rocks and off of the lion's teeth. There are also disturbing pictures of soldiers carrying out Herod's orders to kill the male children after Jesus was born (soldiers with bloody swords and mothers begging for mercy with babies huddled in their arms), and of a servant carrying John the Baptist's head, mostly covered by a bloody cloth, on a platter to Salome.

I do appreciate accurate illustrations, but TMI!! My daughter would be afraid of some of the pictures in this book! [Admittedly, these gory pictures might be a draw to older boys...] :)

As I mentioned, another aspect of this book that I initially appreciated were the sidebars full of extra scientific/ archeological/ historical information and photographs. Sometimes these things were very interesting and informative - I liked seeing photos of natural items that would have been used to dye garments like Joseph's coat, typical foods eaten by the Egyptians, and traditional house structures from Nazareth.

At times, however, it appeared that the team of people contributing to this book clearly did not hold the Bible to be literally true. For instance, it is suggested that the Israelites crossed through a "marshy swamp" rather than miraculously through a sea (although the illustration shows them walking through the parted sea), and I was outraged at the "explanation" that manna may have been sweet liquid which seeps from the hammada shrub. (Really? Feeding thousands of people for 40 years with sap? This just ignores the clear description the Bible gives of what manna looked like.) There were many little details like these that I found heretical and could seriously undermine a child's faith in what the Bible says.

Another real danger in paraphrased, abbreviated sections of the Bible in books like these is that any biases held by the authors and editors are included in the text as they "retell" the stories.

For instance, we are told that God rejected Cain's offering because it was not the best of his produce - as we have discussed in the past, we just don't know that for sure. In addition, God's conversation with Cain in Genesis 3:7 is phrased as, "Why are you angry?... you will succeed if you work hard; and if you do not, the sin will be yours." This completely changes the issue. The problem was not that Cain wasn't working hard!

In the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, the angel stops Abraham and says, "You have proved your perfect love of God by your willingness to sacrifice even your child." Again, as we have discussed, that is NOT the point.

Where the author and editors' biases are most apparent, however, are in the life and parables of Jesus. In a two-page summary of Jesus' life and ministry, the text reads, "The death of Jesus is important to Christians because they believe that, in dying, he was showing God's love for all people. For this reason the cross became the main symbol of Christianity. Christians believe, however, that death did not put an end to Jesus, but that his spirit lives on, especially through his followers." (207) Notice the complete lack of mention of sin, need for forgiveness, etc - and how His bodily resurrection is ignored!

Each parable begins with an "explanation," which often misses the point and emphasize "good living." For example - Lazarus and the rich man was "a story to warn people about God's judgment of the selfish." The Pharisee who prayed in public for show and the Tax Collector who humbly beseeched God for mercy in private were "to show how important it is not to be conceited or to look down on others."

The letters of Paul, also, are summarized with an emphasis on being good rather than on salvation through Christ and resulting deeds which flow out of a changed heart. "If you follow Jesus, you will find that you can overcome your worst instincts... There is no earthly law to make you into a good person, but if you obey the laws of Jesus, you will not only do what is right, but also find true happiness and peace." (307)

Perhaps this seems like I am being nitpicky. But parents, if there is ever a time to be picky about books, it is when a book is seeking to represent God's Word and ways to our children. Read with a critical eye. Be cautious! And teach them the actual words that the BIBLE says - not just a paraphrased summary!

My husband had a great idea. He suggested that I keep this Bible, highlight all the problem areas with a bright highlighter, and use it when our children are older and able to think critically. When they get to a highlighted section, it will be a time for us to read carefully, pull out our Bibles and carefully compare, and teach them to think and use the Bible as the ultimate standard of what is True. Maybe we'll make it a game called "spot the heresy." ;)

This is really a wonderful edition of Bible stories for children. However, the author ends up taking too many liberties with the text. The worst example is Jesus teaching the Lord's Prayer. He says, "Our Lord in heaven." Ack! It is "Our FATHER" and the difference is tremendously important. Many of the parables Jesus tells are introduced by saying something like "Jesus told a story about the kingdom of heaven to say such and such..." Many times the author's interpretation of the parable is debateable. These detract from the reading in my view, though a child would hardly notice. Discernment is called for by the parents! But the side notes and illustrations are very helpful and there are helpful articles on life in the various stages of Bible history times. A good Bible for bedtime reading (or any time really), but you may have to ad lib in some spots a more correct translation.

If you are thinking of purchasing this bible, spend the extra money and purchase the larger book. This one is a nice personal size but the print is so small it is hard to read. I bought it for my granddaughter who told me it hurt her eyes to read it.

One great difficulty in reading Bible stories to children is the wealth of unfamiliar things, ideas, and terms. The Dorling Kindersley retellings are not only short and elegant to read, but unfamiliar items are illustrated and explained right on the page. No searching around for the picture or definition of a "lulag" or "shekel." This makes the DK version especially "user-friendly" and understandable by kids. The wealth of scholar/consultants from different religious traditions assures that it authoritative and equally useful to kids of different religious backgrounds. The DK Children's Bible has become my gift of choice for newborns, whether the parents are dedicated Christians or only those who want their kids to see the Bible as great literature. A truly wonderful book.

It's hard to rate this book, because it does some things very well and other things not well at all. Our kids certainly like it more than the one we read when they were toddlers. But I recommend waiting until they are 6 or 7 until you start this one. Almost every story has some part that I don't want to explain to my 3 year old. As an example, do a Google search for the painting "The Deluge" by Gustave Dore. This painting is part of the page on the Great Flood. At what age do you want to explain to your kids about David and Bathsheba, Jacob Rachel and Leah, drawings of Herod's men killing babies, and the stoning of Stephen? When you are ready, this is a good book. Be ready.

The second criticism is about how the stories are told. I can't quite describe it, but it's like the language is more removed from the action. It's a modern translation, but very stiff and formal. I consider it more formal than the NIV Bible that I normally read. It it trying to prepare kids for the King James version?

On a positive note, my kids really do prefer this Bible to the one that we used before. Maybe it's because the drawings are more realistic. It uses many classic paintings that have stood the test of time. It also mixes in photographs of things that haven't changed in centuries, like using a donkey to carry heavy loads, or ancient roads.

I think of this more of an encyclopedia of Bible facts, rather than a children's Bible. There's something about it that just doesn't speak to me that way other Bibles do.

Finally, a bible that bridges the gap between adult and children's bibles. The illustrations and text are interesting and accurate, it's a wonderful bible for the older children to read on their own, my son is almost ten and loves it. My seven year old daughter loves to have me read the stories and talk about the pictures, she is especially interested in the photographs along the sides of the pages showing actual carpenter tools, clothes, jewelery, foods, etc. that are similar to the ones used during biblical times. You will not find any cartoon figures or blond Saviors in this book! I highly recommend it, even if you don't have any children.