We have decided that in a few weeks when our daughter turns six, she will have her very own, "real" Bible. She can read fluently enough, which means that it won't just be for show, and we'll be teaching her to navigate through the Bible, too. She already understands what a Bible reference is (such as John 3:16).
Our church has recently adapted to using the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible which led us to look into ESV children's Bibles; we chose the ESV Seek and Find Bible for our daughter. It is a more difficult reading level than the NIV or NIrV, but it still seems the best choice for our family, at this time, due to concerns with the 2011 version of the NIV. My favorite feature of the ESV Seek and Find Bible is the 130 Bible stories that are spread throughout the Bible. This allows a child to read in the story form and then to read the actual text as well. Each story begins with a realistically illustrated, full-page painting and is followed by a Seek and Find section. Using icons and words, it helps the child to explore the real text further. This informs the child where to find the story in the actual Bible text. It gives a key Bible verse (often found in a different book of the Bible). Three key questions are asked to help the child understand the key points and application. Last, suggested related Bible readings are provided.
Some other features to consider are book introductions, which includes a timeline.
- Icons throughout to help a child "seek and find" key verses, related verses, and stories with page numbers.
- More than 50 illustrated profiles of people are throughout the Bible that summarize the people in a few sentences.
- Bible objects, maps, and places are illustrated and described.
- A child-friendly dictionary and concordance that include lots of difficult words and a few references for words such as bondage, proverb, and soul. The definition for circumcision is "A special kind of surgery done on a Jewish man as a sign that he belongs to God. God made a promise to Abraham through the ceremony of circumcision." Definitely appropriate for a child!
I am really pleased with the Seek and Find Bible for our daughter and definitely recommend it. In my opinion, it does have one drawback. The illustrations are very "white." With the people of the Bible being mostly from the Middle East, it seems that the skin and hair would represent that, even thousands of years ago. However, almost all of the people illustrated have fair skin, though many do have dark hair. Thankfully, blonde hair and blue eyes are rarer.
Thank you, Crossway for providing the ESV Seek and Find Bible for review purposes. I can't wait to see how my daughter grows and learns from it.
~ Annette {This Simple Mom}
Alex has the Adventure Bible which is geared for boys about 9-13. It has the complete Bible, but it also highlights different "adventurers" throughout the Bible on separate pages.
ReplyDeleteWe bough Niyah a pink "Princess" Bible a couple years ago, but it didn't hold up well. The decorate sparkles came off, etc.
Nater still has a story book Bible. I am thinking of getting all the kids new Bibles for Christmas along with (possibly) handmade Bible covers. The Seek & Find Bible looks neat.
HURRAY! SO glad you pointing this out. We've been using the ESV also and I wasn't sure what to do when Bookworm1 is ready for one. I didn't know of this one. It's going straight on my Amazon wishlist and we'll pick it up when he's old enough for it. (I like the sound of the age of 6.)
ReplyDeleteThe kiddos all have their own Bibles, but they're still working on being ready to use it well, we got them NIrV because I wasn't able to find the International Children's Bible I wanted for them.
ReplyDeleteBut this one sounds really cool. Maybe this will be their next one......