It was time for Josiah to step up from The Jesus Storybook Bible to a real Bible of his own. While in Chicago at the Gospel Coalition Conference I found the ESV: Seek and Find Bible. Designed for kids ages 5-9, this Bible contains the entire text of the English Standard Version, the Bible we use at Genesis during our Sunday service. But the Bible also has lots of stuff for kids. There are over 120 full color illustrations showing scenes from stories in the Bible, as well as retellings of many of the stories in a short and easy to read format. At the end of each story there is a memory verse, some questions, and some other thoughts for kids to consider. Josiah and I have had a lot of fun reading the stories as part of his devotion in the morning before school. So I wanted to pass on a recommendation to parents with younger kids who are ready to step up to their first “real” Bible. Here is the description from the Amazon website.
Published in partnership with Concordia Publishing House, this new full-color children’s Bible combines the complete ESV Bible text with more than 120 new, vibrant illustrations of major Bible stories. Accompanying each full-page illustration is the Bible story itself, clearly and accurately retold for young readers—and for the parents, grandparents, and teachers who read to them. Each story includes a Key Bible Verse to memorize, Additional Readings for discovering more of the story throughout the Bible, and simple Reflection Questions to help children begin to understand and apply God’s Word. Colorful icons make it easy for young readers to see where each story is found in the Bible text and to locate the illustration that goes with it.
In addition, dozens of Bible characters are profiled throughout the pages, and color call-out sections provide illustrated facts about important Bible objects, structures, and places. Each Bible book begins with a child-friendly introduction, highlighting the important characters and themes found in it.
The ESV Seek and Find Bible is the ideal first “real” Bible for pre-readers and young readers, ages 5 to 9, to grow up with. It is also a wonderful resource for parents to use in family Bible reading and for teachers who teach the Bible to young children.
- More than 120 full-page, full-color illustrations
- Simple Bible story retellings for each illustration
- Age-appropriate introductions to each Bible book
- Key Verses to memorize
- Illustrated profiles of more than 50 major Bible characters
- Illustrated facts about Bible objects, structures, and places
- Reflections Questions for children, parents and teachers