books for kids

i love to read. books have changed me, and i long for my children to be impacted in the same way. jon and i are pretty picky about the books we choose for our kids that teach them about who God is because these are the foundational years. today, as julia was sharing with me something she had been learning from a book on cd, i was reminded just how important this is, and i also thought that i'd like to have a list handy of Bible books that we love for those who come behind us (and to write it down before i forget!) so here are some of our favorites.

i love ella lindvall's "read aloud Bible stories." there are just a few words per page. the stories are simple, yet true. (there was one where she referred to wine as "grape juice" and money as "pennies" but at the age that you are reading these stories, you can easily change this back to "wine" and "money" without your non-reader ever knowing) we started these when the girls were 1-2, and julia (now 4), still loves them.

this is my most often recommended Bible for littles. we absolutely adore this Bible. there is not one place in here where we have found it to add or take away from scripture. Jesus is front and center (even from the first story!) the stories are simply and clearly written, and the pictures add more details that will spur conversation on as a child ages and starts asking more questions. we have read through this more times than i can count, and i believe that it helped both of my girls to get a good grasp of the gospel. the new version has a CD included with the Bible read-aloud. for julia's quiet time, this is one of the books she listens to. i cannot recommend it enough!

there are a series of these books that talk about God's attributes. they are little board books that are short, but profound. page one of God has Power says, "God has power. He made the whole world." there is a verse at the bottom of each page too. the title of the book is repeated at the top of each page. love these little things (and need to pull them out for ben!) there are six in the series. God is Kind, God Has Power, God Never Changes, God Knows Everything, God is Everywhere and God is Faithful.

these board books are by the same author as the books on God's attributes, carine mackenzie. i appreciate the introduction to parables for kids, but i'm not going to lie, the deeper meanings were completely lost on my 2-3 year olds. here's the first page, "Some people thought that they were better than others. They thought that God liked them best of all." we have The Lost Coin, The Proud Prayer, The Missing Sheep and The Runaway Son. she has written a new one since abby was a baby, The Foolish Farmer. might be checking that one out soon as big sisters often want to read to their little brother.

when my girls really started asking questions about why Jesus had to die, this book was the best! the illustrations are gorgeous and the explanation is deep, but clear showing from Genesis how we have all sinned, how a lamb was used for sacrifices and how Jesus met all the requirements to be our sacrifice once and for all. this is another one that you can get with a CD, and i highly recommend it. julia is listening to it now.

write now, abby is reading through this Bible. it is in comic book form, and is pretty stinkin' detailed. she has my copy from when i was her age. so obviously, it's an oldie. this is great for when your kiddos are starting to read well. not one that i would want to read aloud, but good for those who are reading and want some independent time with the Bible.

for their first "real" Bible, we have liked the NIrV. i have no doubt that it is not the most accurate of translations, and we aren't going to be doing in depth word studies from this version; however, i think it is perfect for the new reader who wants to read on their own. for that, i am grateful!!

these have been our core books. there are others (and one day, i might post about those), but these are our go to books.

the one book that is conspicuously missing is "The Jesus Storybook Bible." we are well aware that it is vastly loved in the circles that we run in. the reason that we haven't used it yet is simple. when jon and i read it to abby, we were struck by how parts of it stated as fact things that are not stated as fact in scripture. people are stated to feel certain ways that they might indeed have felt, but the Bible doesn't say it explicitly. when we are emphasizing over and over and over to our kids that God's Word is true, and then we have to go back and explain, for example, that joseph might not have felt sad, we don't really know how he felt, well, we think that could be confusing. we get that all of these picture Bibles aren't perfect, but we want to do our best to make things clear. now that abs is older, i think that she would understand easily that this is someone else's interpretation of what they have read and it could foster great conversation. when they are little, we just like to keep it simple. no hard feelings, k? :)