Here’s a good resource for families with young kids. Some comments:

1. The title has a double meaning. It is, in fact, big. Colorful art with images that draw you in and create interest. But it is also “Big Picture” in that it tries to portray the overarching themes from the bible with broad strokes. We have lots of Children’s Bibles. This one is unique.

2. How about this (from page 45) for good theology: “God cursed the snake. God punished Eve. God punished Adam, too. Do you know why God had to punish them? God punished them because they disobey God’s word, which was meant to rule over his place and his people. Did you know that some good news came on this sad day too?  God gave Adam and Eve a hint that he would not always be angry with them. God promised that one day someone would come and crush Satan’s power over people.”

This becomes the theme and is highlighted in the later stories.

3. Yes, Genesis 2 is on page 45. The book is 452 pages long. That’s a lot of pages.

4. Be warned – lots of stories that you are used to in a kid’s Bible are not here. This is to be expected, give the book’s big picture aspect. But there are some surprising and helpful inclusions (such as the rebuilding of the temple) and make sure you look at the details of the pictures for stories not overtly mentioned in the narrative.

5. When I say that it’s for families for young kids, I should be clear: All of my story-listening children (ages 6-11) enjoyed it. I read it out loud to my kids and it was common for them to say “Keep reading” at the end of a section.

6. As portrayed, the death and resurrection of Jesus is sweet and powerful. The gospel is explained.

This book is highly recommended by JamFam.

This post is a review for Crossway Books.

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