Customer Reviews

My First Bible in Pictures (no handle)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this Bible for my kids, who begin Sunday school this year and who have been asking questions about the children's bulletins they receive at church. I thought the idea of pictures and short re-tellings of Bible stories would work for them.

Unfortunately, these stories are SO short, they frustrate even me--and I know the whole story! One example: "Jesus has become a big boy. He is twelve years old. He is in the Temple talking to the leaders of God's people. Jesus is listening to them and asking them questions. They were all surprised at his good answers. Why are the men surprised? Luke 2"

Now, I like the questions at the end--although they're risky, because sometimes the lesson I want my children to learn from a passage differs from Taylor's lesson. But this re-telling of Jesus in the Temple leaves out the best part: Mary and Joseph's frantic search for their missing son, and Jesus' reminder to them that he needed to be in His Father's house.

Other odd omissions: Noah's Ark gets three separate picture and story combinations, but the third picture is of the Ark on the waters during the rainstorm. Where's the rainbow? God's promise? All it says is that God protected Noah and his family during the flood. Later, the story of Samuel hearing God's voice in the Temple is told...but Hannah doesn't get a story at all. And yet the story of Absalom DOES merit a picture: one of a man hanging by his hair in the branches of a tree. That's just not a visual I need to share with my three-year-olds.

I did a little more research, and decided to buy Karyn Henley's "Beginners Bible" instead. I'm not thrilled with the cartoonish people, but the layout of the Creation story and the Table of Contents look like a much, much better fit for our family.

Are you looking for a bedtime Bible story book for preschoolers and early readers? Look no further. Frances Hook, reknown Sunday School Bible story artist did the artwork for this beginner's Bible. The artwork depicts the story beautifully and the text is simple enough for early readers to have success and asks questions that encourage interactions with your child.

I've spent many years teaching Religion to young children and their parents, and to my own sons as well. Because people's physical image of God comes primarily from artistic representations, and because 99.99% of religious art portrays a stern, judgmental deity complete with faraway gaze, we can be seriously put off in our search for spiritual inspiration and a life-altering relationship. Then comes Frances Hook, who shows us a Jesus you would want to meet, get to know and have present in your life. What a revolution could evolve if every newborn were gifted with this book, if the God shown here were to take residence in the graphic mind of every growing child, if this image of a living, laughing, loving Deity were to be the God we believed in. Each time I give the gift of a religious book illustrated by this artist, I feel I'm giving so much more than paper and print.

East to read and simple pictures for young readers or nonreaders who are yet to begin to read. Very nice Bible.

When my children were very small, we would always read books together before naptime. First we would read the true stories in this Bible and then the pretend stories in our library books. Being strong Christians, this book was an excellent way to teach many of the Bible stories to our children. The stories are very brief, but enough to give our children a basic understanding and to induce spiritual conversations with them at a young age. When my son began Sunday School as a toddler, his teacher told me that he knew all the Bible stories she wanted to teach him already. That was because we read through this book on a regular basis. I like that the pictures are realistic instead of cartoon pictures. I think it helps to establish these stories as actual events as opposed to fictional. I am now ordering it for my first grandchild.

I was kept informed of the shipping process; item was delivered earlier than expected. In good condition; exactly what I was looking for! Fair price.

I disagree with the reviewer that was disappointed with this Bible. My son, who is 3 1/2, LOVES this Bible. We have read through it several times by now and after each story, I ask him the comprehension question. It is amazing to me how quickly these Biblical truths have sunk in to his little brain (and heart!). I highly recommend this Bible to anyone who has a toddler or young child.

This is the perfect "first Bible" for children. The pictures are bright and colorful, the handle is easy to hold and the hard back holds up to many drops!

I read this each day with my children when they were the age of 2 and it was an excellent way to introduce them to the Bible in a way a two year old could grasp. In fact it worked so well that one of their Sunday School teachers told me that my child knew all the stories they meant to teach them in Sunday School before they started teaching them.

I can appreciate the review saying the stories are short, too short perhaps. But for my small children it works. They have learned these stories well because they are so short--and can identify with them the way they are written.

If I want my children to pick up a different message than what the questions at the end of each page ask, I just ask them different questions. As for the lack of the rainbow at the end of Noah's ark, sometimes it's good for our children to know that even when the storm is all we see, God's promise is still there, unseen but real.

Frankly, it is the pictures that stuck with me from when I was small, and these pictures drawn for the most part by the exceptional artist team Richard and Frances Hook are something that linger after the words are read.