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I wanted to see for myself what all the talk was about. In many Amazon reviews I read, people referred to the The Big Picture Story Bible as being the best. Is it worth all the hype? What makes it so great?
I was super excited to take a look at this Bible. Upon receiving it, the kids and I sat down and started reading. They chose the Easter story. I have to say that I disappointed and confused after reading the pages. Several main points of the death and resurrection story were omitted. Really? Is this the “best children’s Bible” as stated on several reviews?
A couple of days later, Sweet Pea and I started at the beginning; giving this book another chance.
As I read the first few “Parts” as the sections are called, I was taken back to my Bible survey classes in college. Suddenly, I saw the purpose of this book. The Big Picture Story Bible was written to give you the “big picture” of the Bible and not tell individual stories.
Later I picked up the Bible and read through the rest of it on my own. As I read straight through I saw God’s hand in every detail, His love for His people, and the reason for Jesus’ life on earth. It was powerful and worshipful. Right then and there I decided that my next devotional study was going to include this book. The childlike simplicity of God’s love for me through the ages was woven throughout this 450 page child’s Bible.
The Big Picture Story Bible is comprised of twenty-six parts that smoothly flow from one to the other. Each story is filled with questions that ask the child to suppose what will happen next or takes the learning to a higher level with “why” and “how” questions. Many times the questions happen right before a page turn.
This Bible is perfect for preschool to elementary-aged children. Specifically, I believe this would be a great devotional book for children who have grown up learning Bible stories. While this Bible doesn’t tell details of the stories, a child who knows the stories will be able to pick up the points in the illustrations. Reading through this will help the child tie the individual stories together to follow the amazing redemption story that makes up the Scriptures.
Highly suggest.
The included Cd’s included with the book are the stories read by the author. A soft rolling chime is used to tell the child when to turn the page. The author speaks slowly for the child to digest the stories; slower than I would typically read. No background music or sound effects accompany the reading.
While I don’t have anything against the CD’s, if you are looking for the Bible on CD, I would highly suggest The Beginner’s Bible Deluxe Edition. The CD’s included in this set have sound effects and background music. Our Little Man listens to these CD’s during each quiet time. He quotes them frequently throughout the day. Chimes to turn the page are not included in this set.
Whether you use the CD’s or not, The Big Picture Story Bible is a Bible that I encourage you to add to your library. Read a chapter each night for family devotions or at bedtime with your kiddos. We just finished reading it as a family and I know it will be read through several more times before our kiddos leave the nest.
Read more about Choosing a Children’s Bible.