Customer Reviews

ESV Illustrated Family Bible: 270 Selections from the Holy Bible

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We received the ESV Illustrated Family Bible as a gift recently. We've been using it for our family devotions and so far are very pleased. Some stories are longer, some are rather short. While the text is taken straight from the ESV Bible (our preferred translation), the stories themselves are edited down to make the story flow together for easier understanding. Because of this, I would consider this a "starter Bible" for younger children. Since the stories follow a more chronological flow, a story from Matthew might be followed by one from Luke which in turn could be followed by another one from Matthew. This is especially helpful when reading stories from the Old Testament or reading about the ministry of Jesus.

Each story is accompanied by an illustration, sometimes small sometimes large, and give a good sense of what is going on in each of the stories. The illustrations are beautifully done and sometimes interpretative, which helps even more to see what is going on in the story. We usually start our reading by reviewing what we read last and then looking at the illustration to know what to expect in the current story.

The Old Testament contains many stories from the history books with very little from the prophets (only Jonah and Daniel are included.) However, this is understandable since many of the prophets do not necessarily tell a story that little children would be able to understand. The New Testament includes many stories from the life of Jesus from the Gospels and accounts of the early church in Acts. Paul's letters are very briefly mentioned (one story highlighting Ephesians) and then Revelation obviously is the last story in the book. The only minor complaint I would have is that nothing from Psalms or Proverbs is included, not even Psalm 23. But again, this is minor given the book's intended audience.

We have four children - three under the age of 5 - and each of them are excited for me to read from this Bible each night to find out what has happened in the bigger story line. I would recommend this Bible for families with young children.

The artwork throughout is rich and lifelike. At times the illustrations seem a little interpretive, but they are provocative and add a lot of value. This won't be the ONLY Bible your family uses, but it will have its place. It's about the same size and weight as a typical hard-cover study Bible, and they've made room for the artwork by being selective with the text of Scripture. All the Scripture readings are directly from the ESV, and they provide a thorough survey of the Bible. It's not the whole Bible, so it is not sufficient--but it's a great supplement to a family library, and will be helpful to children.

I read this to my 4-year-old. I like the ESV translation, and this makes it easier than just opening a standard Bible and reading a story. This includes illustrations that hold his attention, and skips over some parts of the text with a "..." so that the story keeps moving. For me, it's a convenient way of reading the Bible to my son.

Our family loves "The Jesus Storybook Bible" and "The Big Picture Story Bible". But now that the kids are a bit older (6 and 4) and more able to sit and listen and understand, this is a great option. I love that its the actual ESV translation (the best modern English translation) and not an author's re-telling. Also, the artwork is beautiful and clearly doing its best to be historically accurate (for example, compare the the boat in the artwork of Jesus calming the sea with images of a 1st-century boat that was found not long ago).

We treasure the word of God and it is a blessing to be able to dig into it together as a family.

I love this bible! I have three daughters I read it to everyday (ages 6,8,9) and they enjoy it a lot, especially the great artwork. I love the ESV and I enjoy reading it to them. If you haven't found a great bible to read to your younger kids, this is the one for you!

this is a great bible for children and/or the whole family! i love the pictures - they are so colorful and warm and lively! the missing star ist for the lack of creativity in the new testament illustrations, because freus simply copied stills from the movie "jesus of nazareth" by franco zefirelli. which is a great film.

I was under the impression that the 270 selections would just be big slabs of scripture with pics to suit. Unfortunately it's kinda the other way round. A lot of pages look like the text has been edited to suit the pictures (which are great pics by the way). Where ever the text has been edited (shortened) an ellipsis is provided to let you know but I was under the impression I would be getting un-edited selections from the Bible. This was disappointing. In the end I might have been better off just reading to the kids from my own ESV and getting a book of just pictures to go with it. Having said that, it's probably better than many paraphrases out there.

The ESV Illustrated Family Bible is great for young children. It is rooted in scripture and illustrated beautifully. I recommend this bible for growing families who want a beginners translation for their children that is both accurate and relevant; readable and insightful.

This is a wonderful children's story Bible! My kids enjoyed the illustrations and I also appreciate the ESV translation! As the title states, there are 270 selections from the Bible, and with it all my children's favorite stories.

This is a wonderful addition to a family library!

This is actual scripture, word for word ESV translation. That is why I love it. Most 'kids bibles' or 'first bibles' are not scripture at all, but storied about storied in the Bible. If you love God's inspired, inerrant, infallible Word, you will really appreciate this (though your understanding of the 2nd commandment may affect your ability to use this book).

Sure the 270 stories are just 'selections,' with verses skipped within, but that was the idea... capture the essence of the stories/histories without all the detail that will bog down the kids. It is hoped that the kids will fall in love with the scripture and, later, as (young) adults, read through the scriptures with the exciting surprise that 'there more (inspired truth) to this story.'

Finally, the kids love the pictures!