For the Christians out there... re: Bible picture books

[EMS83]

What is enough to rule out a children's Bible picture or story book? I know things must be simplified, but often I see the facts altered for the sake of "simplicity." I also wonder if this happens in other religions and if they mind at all. But primarily, is even one divergent detail enough to rule out an otherwise beautiful book? How many teach only from the Bible?

 

I think I'm in the "one wrong detail spoils the whole" camp, for better or worse. However, my children have a hard time with even 5 minutes of Bible reading. I'm kind of at a loss.

[Tinkerbell]

:bigear:

I have found that my kids get turned off from bible time if the reading is too long and/or complicated. Since it is important to me to have them enjoy this time and instill positive memories while they are young, I generally use assorted bibles and devotion books and if there is something I don't agree with - I just skip over it or reword it in my own way. I can do this because none of the kids are reading yet.

 

For the upcoming school year, I have chosen a curriculum for Bible that I will work on with my K'er in the mornings, but we will still continue to read from the bible for family worship before bedtime. We have been using Devotions for Preschoolers, the NIrV Story Bible, and the Jesus Storybook Bible this year. I am thinking of using the NIrV starting next month, but I don't know how to do it with a 3-year-old and a 1.5-year-old too. Unless we read to my 5-year-old separately, which I really don't want to do because that kind of changes the "family" part of our worship. Maybe if we just take it in small chunks and add in a corresponding picture story for the little ones...

[Jeeves]

We use The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos for our small children. It's very good--simplified stories for small children, but stays true to the Word of God. It always points back to God's sovereignty and his divine plan for the redemption of the world and his people.

[hmvaughan4]

We have several and used Jesus Storybook Bible early this school year. Now, I read the Bible at breakfast. The boys listen well while they're eating. We are reading through the Gospels and will probably repeat them a few times before moving on.

[Jeeves]

Btw, I am one of those people who will rule out a bible book based on one altered fact! Too often I think we underestimate a child's ability to understand deeper things and the story as told in the Bible.

[Carol in Cal.]

One error in representing the Bible to children makes a book unacceptable to me.

 

If you want to find materials with that outlook, check out Concordia Publishing House.

 

They have a newish children's story Bible that I have finally seen in person, and it is really good. It's called "The Story Bible" and it's really big--you won't run out of material with this one.

[LillyMama]

I think it depends on what you mean by error or change. I've not found a Children's Bible to be inherently wrong, but I have found some that have used certain words when I think others are more fitting. Personally, since I'm reading aloud to them and they're not reading it to themselves, I just change the word or sentence structure as I'm reading it.

 

I guess I'd have to know what the error was. But I'm not shy about saying, "Wow, this book says this wrong!" and I certainly won't be when my kids are old enough to read it to themselves. For me, that is an important part of education, too- learning that some books cannot be trusted. I've already talked to my kids about "This is a Children's version of the Bible, with pictures, where people have tried to make it easier for kids to understand. They're not really how God said it. Sometimes we just have to pray that we'll understand it the way God wants us to." When my son asked me to read him the Creation story from my "real" Bible, he laughed by verse 6, and said, "That's okay, Mom, I'll take the picture one for now. When I get older you can help me fix anything I learn wrong."

[Beth in SW WA]

However, my children have a hard time with even 5 minutes of Bible reading. I'm kind of at a loss.

 

if your kids don't enjoy reading the Bible then you need to change it up. We have about 7 different Bibles and the current favorite is The Action Bible. They read it constantly without prompting by me.

 

HTH!

[lillehei]

THe most important thing is that we plant the Word on our childrens' hearts. If at a younger age, it needs to be done in story format with a picture book, I see nothing wrong with that. My kids loved VeggieTales and I don't believe they are anti-Bible. Maybe you could pick a very short memory verse from one of the readings. Maybe you could just stick with the Bible stories we all grew up with and loved to and then have a conversation about faithfulness and God's love for his people. As they get older, they should be able to handle the Bible in an English translation that works for you.

 

I think we need to be careful because few of us are reading the Word in its original languages. We are all getting a translation. For me a picture book is another translation.

[Ohmomjacquie]

We have a beginner's bible the kids like it as accurate as far as I can tell. The stories are short enough to keep theirinterest.

[Hunter]

I have no faith anymore in ANYTHING including religion, due to my Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. It's just one of the symptoms and I don't beat myself up over being symptomatic.

 

But I come from an ultra-conservative Christian background and still choose to be a cultural Christian. I taught Sunday School and Youth Group as well as homeschooling my boys, so I've spent a LOT of time looking at Bibles :-)

 

The NIrV is a resource I use with my LD and ESL students. It has its good and bad points. It's VERY literal and uses words that I can't post here, instead of more flowery language. People think of it as a "kid's" Bible, but it's NOT. It's a meaning for meaning translation using shorter sentences and a reduced vocabulary and it's written to PUNCH. Bam, it says it.

 

I've studied enough Greek and Hebrew, and understand enough about the translation process to be quite comfortable using it, despite choosing the KJV for memorization and reference books and helping children learn to be comfortable reading 17th century literature and "The Great Books".

 

Of interest to some moms who only want to read from the KJV, it might help to study some Waldorf story telling practices. You won't agree with much you read about Waldorf in GENERAL, but don't miss the chance to learn how to retell difficult texts. Waldorf Grade 1 teachers retell Grimm's Fairy tales which are too advanced for nonreading Waldorf Grade 1 students, and quite violent.

 

Also google Godly Play, and look for blogs where people have adapted the ideas in more affordable ways.

 

Most people find the Rod and Staff Sunday School materials accurate enough. I think they get mailed out quarterly.

[...................]

Have you ever told you

Children bible stories in your own words? I have. Lots of detsils become altered and I do add my own "take" on the story as I tell it. I don't intend to add to God's Word- as if I could improve. ?

 

But as a story becomes my own, it will naturally include those alterations and additions.

 

Therefore I view children's Bible story books in the same way. I believe that it's just like Grandpa re-telling old family stories. I do explain to my children where the additions are, eventually.

 

Honestly my daughter was called by God during and through reading The Jesus Storybook Bible.

 

I cannot imagine our lives without our favorite Bible story books.

 

However if you are still really concerned, try The Golden Children's Bible. It's fairly accurate, with amazing illustrations and almost no opinions added.

[...................]

PS my dh bought The Action Bible and my kids read the whole thing straight through- twice!!! They know more details about stories in some parts of the OT than I do now!

[mrs.m]

My favorite for them to read independently is: A Child's Garden of Bible Stories (but the one on Amazon, still isn't quite the same. My copy is copyright 1948.)

[Jeeves]

Oh! Another source for Bible stories is this:

 

http://www.worldsgreateststories.com/

 

It's a word for word dramatic reading of Bible stories. You can pick either KJV or NIV, I think. My kids love them! (I think they're a little over the top, but the kids really enjoy them!).

 

Just an idea if you're interested! :001_smile:

[Jennay]

One of the things I really pay attention to in Children's Bibles is the quality of the illustrations. I hate the "bug-eyed" people.

[Bluegoat]

I also think it depends, and it depends on how the story is presenting itself. Is it saying that it is a simplified Bible, or is it taking something and turning into more of a story?

 

I don't necessarily object to taking a narrative passage that would be difficult for children to relate to and fleshing out the details a bit.

[Dory]

I have avoided use of most children's Bibles because I feel that changing something just to make it more simple is not always right. I read scripture to the kids from an NKJV and I have asked the kids to illustrate the stories for me. Not only has that allowed me to see what the kids are really getting from the stories, but I feel better knowing that some stranger that I don't even know isn't filling their minds with an inaccurate view of Scripture. My oldest two will both be starting Hebrew this year and I'm looking forward to them reading our Hebrew scripture for themselves.

[SaraSeashell]

I emphatically second The Child's Story Bible by Vos...excellent for reading aloud with beautiful language (although not many pictures - but the ones it has are not "cartoony") and broken into 1-2 page segments. Haven't read the new Concordia one, but have their 100 Bible Stories which is solid in accuracy. I like the Jesus Storybook Bible too, but seems to me that it's for a much younger child or beginning independent reading. Would love to hear what you find!

[MouseBandit]

Another recommendation for The Children's Bible by Golden. We use this with our littles (4, 2, 10mo) and then go and read from the KJV the same story, and I am constantly surprised by how near-verbatim consistent they are with the wording while still putting it in a story format. And the pictures are indeed beautiful.

 

Tracey in Oregon

[ALB]

We use The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos for our small children. It's very good--simplified stories for small children, but stays true to the Word of God. It always points back to God's sovereignty and his divine plan for the redemption of the world and his people.

:iagree::iagree:We love, love, love this book! I can't believe how well my dc pay attention and remember from it. It is very accurate and often quotes exactly from scripture.

[stripe]

I would rather my kids learn religious stories separately from studying the actual text when very young, especially as some aspects are not really appropriate for very young children. I also think certain stories can be traumatic to a child in particular and must be introduced carefully (such as those involving children being killed or nearly killed/sacrificed), and others dealing with, say, lascivious sexual behavior are not really necessary to get into. I would rather skip those than present a fabricated version of them. As an example, I remember reading on some forum (not sure if it was this one) someone saying she told her kids (in the course of reading the Bible) that a prostitute is someone who is pretending to be someone's wife, or something. To me, this is the exact opposite of my definition of a prostitute. A prostitute is NOT pretending to be a wife. To me. I would rather skip stories about prostitutes until what one is can be legitimately explained.

[Jess4879]

We have several children's bibles and story books and I don't think any of them are entirely perfect. If we come across something that isn't correct I will usually just say "Well, they've changed this part a little bit. This is what really happens..." I think it's important for them to learn that not every thing they read - whether it's a children's bible story, or a newspaper article - is going to be fact. It's a jumping off point only. I want them to know that they have to go to the source.

 

So far, this is our favorite: http://www.christianbook.com/read-146-see-bible-book-and/stephen-elkins/9781591454861/pd/454867?item_code=WW&netp_id=437691&event=ESRCN&view=details

 

We read the story one day and then watch the story on the DVD the next. Each story is followed by a song. Most of them are very cute and catchy and we all really like them!

[Hunter]

I would rather my kids learn religious stories separately from studying the actual text when very young, especially as some aspects are not really appropriate for very young children. I also think certain stories can be traumatic to a child in particular and must be introduced carefully (such as those involving children being killed or nearly killed/sacrificed), and others dealing with, say, lascivious sexual behavior are not really necessary to get into. I would rather skip those than present a fabricated version of them. As an example, I remember reading on some forum (not sure if it was this one) someone saying she told her kids (in the course of reading the Bible) that a prostitute is someone who is pretending to be someone's wife, or something. To me, this is the exact opposite of my definition of a prostitute. A prostitute is NOT pretending to be a wife. To me. I would rather skip stories about prostitutes until what one is can be legitimately explained.

 

Hmm...this has left me thinking. When I taught straight from the Bible, unfiltered, in my OLD way of thinking about things, we only got stopped up once. I forget which prophet, but a group of children was eaten by a bear after making fun of a bald prophet. My boys got stuck on the Hebrew word for the KJV word for "children" and did God send the bear. Otherwise all the rest, unfortunately, didn't phase me or my boys or my students. I guess it should of, huh? And even the bear eating children didn't phase me. I was so brainwashed at that point that I thought huge portions of the population were entirely expendable, so...whatever.

 

Now, as I've been going through these same scriptures with just my adult remedial students, I've been, "Look! Knock it off! Take those questions to someone else. We are having a reading and overview lesson here. I don't teach doctrine. That's not my job"

 

I don't know what I'd do with kids of my own right now. Hmm :-0 I just say over and over, it's a good thing my boys are grown, because I'm way too confused to guide children or be fully responsible for them, at this point in my life.

 

I can sympathize with everyone's opinions here. I have no answers of what people should do. I can only point them to resources they might like, and warn of potential things they might not like.

[raceNzanesmom]

Love The Jesus Storybook Bible. :D Once we worked through it a couple times he was ready to have me read out of a regular Bible.

[EMS83]

Wow there are some great suggestions here! I've put several onto my book list to get a hold of and read for myself. And I loved the Audio CD samples from The World's Greatest Stories. I'm not terribly animated when I read, so something like that may be all they need to become interested in the actual Bible. I really liked the idea of having them illustrate the passages you read to them.

 

Stripe, I'm with you. We read Proverbs and the gospels and I just skip the adulteress and prostitute references entirely for now. I refuse to sugarcoat things to where I'm actually lying, but at the same time, I want them to remain innocent on that subject for as long as possible.

 

My issues are when books say something like, "God was afraid so-and-so didn't love Him so He told so-and-so to..." instead of simply saying God tested so-and-so. Or even saying that Moses died before reaching the Promised Land as if that is why he didn't get to enter it. I'm ok with discussing those discrepancies later on, but this is all dealing with their biblical foundation and I'm much more finicky about that.

[Carol in Cal.]

As an example, I remember reading on some forum (not sure if it was this one) someone saying she told her kids (in the course of reading the Bible) that a prostitute is someone who is pretending to be someone's wife, or something. To me, this is the exact opposite of my definition of a prostitute. A prostitute is NOT pretending to be a wife. To me. I would rather skip stories about prostitutes until what one is can be legitimately explained.

 

I may have been the one.

When I got to the story of David and Bathsheba, my DD was probably 6 or 7, and she asked me what it meant. So I told her that David wanted Bathsheba to pretend to be married to him in a bad way. I thought that that was a decent enough description for that age. You might disagree. But I have a penchant for reading the actual text from very early, and not skipping much of anything.

[tomelay]

We use the Children's Bible reader. Incidentally this book has an online (free) site with games and it is read aloud. There are also free podcasts of it being read at Ancient Faith Radio. We use both and the children love it. Mine are 9 down to 3.

 

CBR site

Ancient Faith Podcasts

 

9 year old Tristan uses the same Bible I do for his Bible study which is the Winter Promise 'God of All Creation'. So far, he really loves it.

[Lucy]

I read, "My Favorite Bible" with my youngest kiddos and they love it. (They may be a bit bias ;)!) It's very gospel centered by design. You can see inside it at http://www.amazon.com/My-Favorite-Bible-Best-Loved-Stories/dp/0800719565/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338868166&sr=8-1 My other favs are The Jesus Storybook Bible on CD (the voice is awesome) and The Big Picture Story Bible by Helm.

[Carol in Cal.]

 

 

My issues are when books say something like, "God was afraid so-and-so didn't love Him so He told so-and-so to..." instead of simply saying God tested so-and-so. Or even saying that Moses died before reaching the Promised Land as if that is why he didn't get to enter it. I'm ok with discussing those discrepancies later on, but this is all dealing with their biblical foundation and I'm much more finicky about that.

 

I agree with this. You know, a lot of Christians here object to teaching myths as well as Bible stories because they are afraid their children will get confused. Using Bible story books that are completely consistent with the actual Bible, and clearly stating when you're reading the Bible, when you're reading a paraphrase, and when you're reading something else is an excellent way to avoid that problem. If you use Bible story books that amplify the text too much, you can ruin the special character of the inspired Word of God, and cause unnecessary and potentially serious confusion. Besides, there are Bible story books that are quite age appropriate that are completely accurate, so why not use those?

[Hunter]

I agree with this. You know, a lot of Christians here object to teaching myths as well as Bible stories because they are afraid their children will get confused. Using Bible story books that are completely consistent with the actual Bible, and clearly stating when you're reading the Bible, when you're reading a paraphrase, and when you're reading something else is an excellent way to avoid that problem. If you use Bible story books that amplify the text too much, you can ruin the special character of the inspired Word of God, and cause unnecessary and potentially serious confusion. Besides, there are Bible story books that are quite age appropriate that are completely accurate, so why not use those?

 

"Completely accurate" is an opinion. It's really hard for ultraconservative Christians. It really is. None of the available options feel accurate enough. It's just...hard. I think felts and retellings are often the best option. But sometimes even the felts can be inaccurate :-0

[Carol in Cal.]

"Completely accurate" is an opinion. It's really hard for ultraconservative Christians. It really is. None of the available options feel accurate enough. It's just...hard. I think felts and retellings are often the best option. But sometimes even the felts can be inaccurate :-0

 

Gently, deciding that complete accuracy is not attainable is an opinion. And it can lead to unnecessarily accepting very faulty stuff.

 

It's funny; I don't think that I am ultra conservative, although I am quite conservative, but I have a much higher view of Scripture than is evident in most Christian bookstores. The accuracy issue for children's books is HUGE for me. And thankfully I have resources available that serve that. No one has to settle for less, because there ARE such resources available. I encourage anyone with concerns about this to look at books from Concordia Publishing House and Northwestern Publishing house. I think that you will see what I mean.

[Dealea86]

I am really picky about story Bibles. I think most of them change or leave out too many details to be worthwhile. This is the main reason why we use the NIrV Read With Me Bible. From what I can tell, it's basically just the NIrV translation with verses omitted to make the story flow better for children.

 

I'm not very fond of the illustrations, but then again I'm not very fond of most illustrations in children's Bibles. They're either too westernized (and since DH isn't white this is a Big Deal to him) or they're too cartoony. Sometimes both. :glare:

 

The other day I started reading to DD from a Bible on a whim, and I was quite happy at how close the stories were to what we read in her NIrV Read With Me Bible. The wording was a bit different, because of course it was a different translation, and there were sections that were completely left out, but basically the story in her story Bible is taken directly from the text. I think it's a wonderful stepping stone from an easy Bible with pictures to a Bible she can read as she gets older.

 

There's only one other story Bible I've really liked, and unfortunately we lost it and I can't remember the name.

[Hunter]

Gently, deciding that complete accuracy is not attainable is an opinion. And it can lead to unnecessarily accepting very faulty stuff.

 

It's funny; I don't think that I am ultra conservative, although I am quite conservative, but I have a much higher view of Scripture than is evident in most Christian bookstores. The accuracy issue for children's books is HUGE for me. And thankfully I have resources available that serve that. No one has to settle for less, because there ARE such resources available. I encourage anyone with concerns about this to look at books from Concordia Publishing House and Northwestern Publishing house. I think that you will see what I mean.

 

I think most people don't fully understand what it means to be ultraconservative, unless they have been it, or have been raised in it. I'm not ultraconservative anymore, but I so understand the difference. Ultraconservatives have different beliefs about WHAT is accurate, never mind being literal and staunch about their version of accurate.

 

I don't think it is possible for an ultraconservative to comfortably use a retelling, unless it was produced by their own denomination. It's just too scary. Too much rides on being and doing it "right".

 

I'm speaking in VERY general terms here about ultraconservatism, and not any specific group. There are ALWAYS exceptions!

Edited June 5, 2012 by Hunter