Children's Bible Books

It hit me recently that I talk a lot about books here, and yet I have not mentioned the book (s) that get read daily. So guess what? I'll tell you about them now! Each night (mostly, anyway) before the kids go to bed we have family Bible time. This is something that I am privileged to look to my parents as a model. Ever since I can remember that was part of our day. It would sometimes vary if we did it in the morning or evening, but except for rare occasions we always did it. I'm grateful for a husband that has established that in our home as well. For us, right now, that includes Daddy reading a Bible story, catechism questions/answers, sometimes a verse we've been working on learning, a song, or two or three, and praying. .

I love listening to Stefan's prayers. They can't be captured unless you hear them yourself, but they are just precious. We get a little glimpse into what he "gets" from the day through his prayers. Usually, his prayers consist of recounting every detail of the day or talking about what he hopes will happen (the other day it was, "Maybe Mommy make muffins tomorrow...") hint, hint. Sometimes, though, right in the middle he'll add in a phrase such as, "there is only one God" (a phrase from a catechism question), or an account of a Bible story. We love those moments because that is when we realize that things are being learned and taken in even if we don't always see it.

Here are our current favorite Bible books. Obviously, these are age-appropriate for the stage we are currently in. As our kids get older we'll adjust and find other materials.

Some of the reasons we like these books specifically:

- They are Reformed in their theology.
- They emphasize the progression of Redemptive history and not just individual Bible stories unrelated to one another.
- They introduce theological truths on a child's level.


The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm is a beautiful children's Bible. The pictures are captivating for toddlers and there are few words to each page. Perfect for the attention span of young toddlers. It reads more as one big story flowing smoothly from Old Testament to New Testament and sets the stage nicely for children to understand that the Bible is a complete, unified book of the redemptive work of Christ.


The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones is another very well written Bible book. The subtitle, Every Story Whispers His Name captures the message beautifully. More than once, I have read an Old Testament narrative and thought to myself, "I never realized that was a picture of Christ," or something similar. This book has slightly longer narratives which is great for a growing attention span. The artwork on this one is not as captivating as The Big Picture Story Bible, but Stefan still really enjoys them.

The Snowy Day

Do you know the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats? If not, and you have young children you should get to know it. (It's a Caldecott winner, by the way) It's a perfect book to save to give to your kids on the first day it snows. In fact, once snow season is over again, I think I will put it away for the summer and pull it back out in the winter again. It will be like getting a new book all over again!

This video of Stefan right after our big snow storm a couple of weeks ago reminds us of these lines in the book.

"He pretended he was a mountain-climber.
He climbed up a great big tall heaping mountain of snow--
and slid all the way down."

(special thanks to Auntie Donna for thinking ahead and buying the book for Stefan in anticipation of our many snowy days. He loved getting a new book--especially one he could relate to so well!)