My Favorite Children's Bibles

 

When it comes to teaching our children about God, his character, and his wonderful works in history, there really is no substitute for reading directly from God’s Word. Books, commentaries, catechisms, and other resources can be helpful in supplementing regular Bible reading, but they can never fully replace it. So we recommend that families have a regular practice of reading God’s Word together during times of family worship.

However, we also recognize that there are age-appropriate ways to distill the stories from the Bible in ways that condescend to the frame of our children and help them to understand the truths found there.

With that in mind, I wanted to put together a list of some of my favorite children’s Bibles in case you would also find them useful in teaching your kids about God’s Word. I’m sure there are other great resources out there, these are just the ones that I am familiar with! I will provide a brief description of each book below:

  • The Child’s Story Bible (Catherine F. Vos) - This is probably my top choice for a children’s Bible to use around the dinner table. Each reading is about 5 to 10 minutes long and though it does not go verse by verse, it faithfully follows the storyline of Scripture in a compelling and theological way. I also like it because it is word-driven rather than picture-driven, and helps children to focus on hearing the word of God. [Best for ages 6-12]

  • The Action Bible (Sergio Cariello) - It’s hard to beat The Action Bible in my opinion. This children’s Bible adopts a comic book format in relaying the stories of Scripture to you. What I love most about it is how it makes the stories of the Old Testament seem so real, physical, and earthy. It’s one thing to read about a battle with the Philistines taking place or the plagues of God devastating Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but another thing to see it depicted in epic illustrations. My top choice if you have young boys at home. [Best for ages 4-8]

  • The Gospel Story Bible (Marty Machowski) - This is from our beloved Marty Machowski, and it is the children’s Bible we have used for years in Emmaus Road Kids. What is so great about this Bible is how it ties everything to Jesus—whether Old Testament or New Testament. It distills the stories very faithfully in a kid-friendly way and is definitely a go-to Bible for us in our home and Gospel Communities. [Best for ages 5-10]

  • The Big Picture Story Bible (David R. Helm) - The main message of this children’s Bible is that, “God’s forever people will one day live in God’s forever place under God’s forever rule,” and it carries that theme beautifully from Genesis to Revelation. So simple and yet so profound and rich. The pictures are definitely tailored for a younger audience, but they are great. You will not find a better children’s Bible for teaching biblical theology to your young children. I really, really love this one. [Best for ages 2-6]

Honorable Mentions (these children’s Bibles are all great too and worth checking out!):


 
Logan Thune