I love every aspect of this Bible. The illustrations by Jago are both charming and intriguing. There are about fifty stories, a good balance. The text itself is exactly what I want my children to hear, theologically. I love this line from the very first chapter. "The Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done." AMEN.The subtitle is "Every Story Whispers His Name" and indeed, every story does. "No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story... You see, the best thing about this Story is -it's true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them."
She goes on to say that the center of the story is a baby who is like the missing piece to a puzzle that makes all the other pieces fit together, and to reveal the beautiful picture. She stays true to this aim, pointing to Christ with every story, helping children to see the whispers of redemption through it all. If you buy just one Children's Story Bible, I'd commend this one to you.
However I have a couple of caveats.
Since children get so much from imagery I was really disappointed with the artwork. The quality is great, but the content very poor, and underscores misconceptions of the bible, actually making the bible look less believable. Noah's ark is shown balancing precariously on the pinnacle of the mountain, as well as being that silly shape that it is often drawn nothing like the proportions given in the bible. Jericho is a five house town not much of a conquest there. Goliath is make to look like a gruesome ogre of fairytale proportions. The people of Israel coming to the Red Sea look like a small Sunday school outing rather than 1.5 million people making the exodus. I could go on. For me, the pictures undermine the very thing the words are seeking to do they push the stories into the realm of fairy tales.
(A far better set of illustrations are by Gail Schoonmaker in the The Big Picture Story Bible written by David Helm.)
The other caveat is that sometimes Lloyd-Jones is a little loose to the story, making up things that aren't in the passage. For example Jesus being bathed in a golden light at his baptism, there being three wise men, Jesus winking at the boy who brought the 5 loaves and saying "watch this" and others. It's little things like she says Jacob had to wait 7 years to marry Rachel instead of just a week, like God creating by saying "Hello Light", like using "Papa" for Father a word which doesn't carry the same connotations as Abba. Like the feeding of the '5000 people', rather than 5000 men, plus a lot more women and children. Like Jesus playing games with children. Like Zacchaeus being so small that he had to take a flying leap to get up into his chair for breakfast.
In one sense they're small things, and it is in the style of other children's books. And therein lies the problem the bible isn't another children's book. It's true in every detail so when it comes to a Children's version of the Bible, it should be true in every detail. We owe that to our kids.
I'd prefer not to have to edit the story as I tell it. Growing up, we had the Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos read to us. Time and time again when we thought she was stretching the text, when we looked up our bibles we found she was exactly right. Since we read it so many times, a vast quantity of accurate bible knowledge was imbibed. That's what I look for in a children's bible.
Having said all that the links to Jesus often make you stop and praise God for Jesus. We've read it following on from the aforementioned Big Picture Story Bible which I would heartily recommend. And that's probably the best way read it along with other children's bibles and correct it as you go.
Looking forward to the revised edition of this potentially tremendous asset.
Buy The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name [Kindle Edition] Now
As a grandmother of six, I'm always on the search for edifying Christ-centered material, which is why I bought the Jesus Storybook Bible for my little darlings...Then I heard David Suchet's reading of it and this wonderful book, which had already earned a "Wow!" from me got another really big "Wow!"...and so, it's a good thing that I can order with one-click because I ordered copies for the kids (again!) and for my pal the preschool teacher and for...and for...Really, Suchet's readings made these stories spring to life and I've put them on my MP3 player and listen in the grocery store and at night when I can't sleep and when I'm on the airplane and need to be reminded of God's great love for me in Christ Jesus, my Rescuer.
You really must get this -even if you don't have little ones. The child He calls you as needs to hear the story again and again.
Read Best Reviews of The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name [Kindle Edition] Here
We were excited to receive a copy of this book as a gift as I had read and heard rave reviews from numerous places and people I trust. We read through it cover to cover on a nightly basis (1 story a night) with our 2.5 year old and we will not be reading it again. I wanted to write a review here because I wish I had known more about the book before we read it, so I'm hoping this review will help others get a balanced perspective.I want to preface this by saying that much of the Jesus Storybook Bible is very well done. Many of the reasons we won't be reading it again are preferential more than theological--the tone and style are not what we're looking for, but many may love it. However, as we read through the book with my son, we ran across some issues that cemented our discontent, and many of them were things we consider non-negotiable issues. While a book for kids is obviously not going to be a thorough or completely accurate translation of biblical texts, we feel very strongly that we don't want to be teaching anything now (explicitly or otherwise) that we will have to "unteach" later. This goes for tone, details, attitudes and big concepts alike. That said, here are a few of our thoughts.
I'll start by mentioning a few things I really liked about the Jesus Storybook Bible (JSB). I thought the whimsical style really suited both the creation narrative and the description of Revelation. It also worked well for many of the Old Testament stories (Tower of Babel, Noah & the flood, Jonah). I appreciate the emphasis on Christ as the center of God's plan and love the idea of "every story whispering His name" (the tag-line for the book). That being said, we really felt that the authors overstepped and added to or changed parts of scripture in a way that could be genuinely harmful to our children's developing spiritual lives and understanding. I'll give a few bullet points that stand out to me with an example of each.
The result of the fall. The JSB says that because of the fall, a terrible lie came into the world: "God doesn't love me." This theme runs throughout many of the stories. Now, of course doubting God's love is part of the results of the fall, but to sum it up that way really doesn't get to the heart of our culpability and need for forgiveness. We are broken, but we are also responsible. We are not just victims of the fall, we are perpetrators, and I think that is incredibly important for children to understand.
The addition of unnecessary and unbiblical details. In almost every story, the JSB has embellishments that stray from the text. While that's somewhat understandable to make it accessible to little ones, we really felt they stepped over the line and described scenes that were not only not in scripture but could easily sway the understanding of a biblical character's character and personality.
o Example: In the story of God's command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, after God stops Abraham, there is this paragraph:
"Abraham felt his heart leap with joy. He unbound Isaac and folded him in his arms. Great sobs shook the old man's whole body. Scalding tears filled his eyes. And for a long time, they stayed there like that, in each other's arms...."
I am uncomfortable with that not because it isn't true, but because I have no idea if that's what happened. It's highly specific and it feels wrong to me to tell my kids a Bible story that way. There's nothing wrong with saying Abraham was overjoyed, relieved, and rejoiced, but being so specific feels eerily of untruth to me.
The addition of details that are ANTI-biblical. I know that sounds very harsh, but I mean to make a distinction between details that we can't know, like my point above, and details that we know are untrue, if relatively "harmless."
o Example: In the story of Jacob working for Laban to earn Rachel's hand:
"One day, Laban said, `Jacob, I've decided to pay you for your work. What do you want?' A sudden thought struck him. `How about one of my daughters?'"
You can read Gen. 29 to see that this is not an accurate account at all. Jacob is the one who suggests marriage to one of Laban's daughters. In fact, the JSB's version of the story is framed as Rachel being the "popular girl" and Leah the girl that "nobody wanted," while in scripture the only thing to suggest this is a description of Rachel as beautiful and Leah as plain. Not only do we not want to introduce the "pretty popular" versus "ugly boring" dichotomy any earlier than it will present itself, this belies the nature of the passage and hoists far too much modern cynicism onto the story. Is it harmful to change those little details? Maybe not, but again, it makes us very uncomfortable. We would much rather err on the side of caution (and in this case, the side of scripture).
Irreverence. This is my #1 problem with this text. It's one thing to simplify language and large theological concepts, but unfortunately the whimsy of the language in the JSB often seems to turn into cheek and strays far from the holiness and awe found in the biblical narrative.
o Example: The description of Gabriel's visit to Mary. In scripture, we see Mary as receptive, in awe of the honor bestowed upon her, and both reverent and submissive. The JSB says Mary was "minding her own business" and when the angel told her she was chosen by God, she "looked over her shoulder to see if he was talking to somebody else." I know to some people these additions would feel like no big deal, but we want our children to grow up with an abiding sense of awe at God's presence and work. This was not just some casual encounter! And Mary, as seen in scripture, didn't treat it that way.
When we speak of these incredible moments when God reached into history, I want my children hear them described with reverence and appropriate fear, not nonchalance. Yes, the words and ideas need to be simple enough to be accessible to children, but simplicity and reverence are not only compatible, but according to Christ they require one another.
Alongside this point, we were really disappointed in the immature and petty attitudes portrayed in many of the characters. It seemed that in the JSB, heroes of the faith were always arguing, being petty and rude, and rarely (if ever) maturing throughout their stories. The book seemed to have a very black and white view of its characters. Jesus is good. Everyone else is vicious and just doesn't get it. Sure, we as humans often don't get it. But if I'm going to tell my children that I want them to model their lives after the great men and women in the Bible, I want them to see and hear about those who were changed by their encounters with Christ and lived incredible, selfless lives. I do NOT want them modeling their lives after the men and women in the JSB.
I think the real tipping point for us was the story of the Last Supper. The JSB messed with that particular story so much we almost quit reading in the middle of it. Here are the highlights of the problems we saw:
o The JSB story begins with the disciples arguing over not wanting to wash each other's feet. This is totally inaccurate--See John 13. Not only was there no arguing, but they never would have expected one of them (or Jesus) to do it. It was a servant's job. Jesus brought it up by beginning to serve them, not in the midst of an argument.
o The JSB includes Peter's refusal of Jesus' washing and Jesus' comment that if he did not wash him, Peter could have no part with him. Peter's response of "then wash all of me!" is included, but not Jesus' gentle reminder that only his feet needed washing. In our minds, this is very incomplete. If they did not want to include the more difficult theology of Jesus' second answer, they shouldn't have included Peter's second comment either.
o The JSB changes Christ's words during the Last Supper, having him say, "My body is like this bread. It will break." There are so many things wrong with this interpretation, especially if you do not adhere to the bread and wine as a "mere symbol." The emphasis is on the bread, not Christ's body. Also, the JSB flips the metaphor around and says, "This cup of wine is like my blood." The power in the statements of Christ in the Last Supper is in their simplicity, and we are hard pressed to think of a good reason to change the simple and accurate translation of "This is my body" and "This is my blood." Even if you believe they are simply a metaphor and don't want to confuse (often literal) children, the JSB is liberal with metaphors elsewhere. These essential words of Christ seem an obvious place to keep scriptural integrity.
o The JSB also changes Jesus' specific command to celebrate the Lord's Supper ("Do this in remembrance of me") into a general heaven-ward thought when we consume food & drink (From the JSB: "So whenever you eat and drink, remember... I've rescued you!"). I don't think any Orthodox Christian would see this as an accurate representation of Christ's expectation.
So, I've written a lot of criticism here, and I hope it will be taken as it is intended. It helped us immensely to have to write all of this down. Some points on which I thought I had legitimate concerns, I discovered were not theological at all and I was forced to reevaluate. Others I became even more convinced that this is not the biblical standard I want to hold up for my children. If these were Richard Scarey stories or Curious George, I could look at my kids and say, "That's not right, is it?" But when we sit down and say we're going to learn about Jesus and His story, I want to be as accurate, reverent and choosy as I can be, because there is a lot at stake. Those are our (very long) 2 cents. Please take them with a grain of salt.
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This is the Bible storybook I have always hoped would be written, though I didn't realize it until I read it. I LOVE THIS BOOK! And so do my 8 year old, my 6 year old, my 5 year old, and my 3 year old.Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this. My favorite line so far: The Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done. Amen. Our children are capable of hearing this and this book tells it to them in a way they can certainly understand.
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