Crossway Book Review: "The Big Picture" Story Bible by David Helm

The Big Picture Story Bible
Sometimes I like to take a moment and thank God that we live in a free country where access to a Bible is commonplace -- you can walk into any church and find one; they're in hotel room drawers and hospital bedside tables; and even at Wal-Mart for sale amongst all the other books.  There are so many different translations in all price ranges for all different ages.  We are so blessed in this country that it's easy to take it for granted and forget that Bibles are not only scarce in many countries, but the mere fact that you possess one makes you a criminal hunted by the government.  In our house, we have several different translations and styles of the Bible and I often refer to them all when I'm looking for specific passages pertaining to a certain subject I'm studying.  We even have children's Bibles (including the NIV children's Bible I received from my parents when I was a little girl) so that we can share the glorious riches of God's word with our daughters in a way they can understand more clearly.

We recently received The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm from Crossway Books for the purpose of review.  Big Sis was excited to get it and sat down to read right away.  Lil Sis climbed up on the couch next to her and looked at the pictures as Big Sis read the words.  It did my heart good to see them enjoying God's word together!  The illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker are kid-friendly without being too "cartoon-y" and help bring the words to life for the kids.  At 8 years old, Big Sis was able to read and follow the stories with only a few "hard words" here and there that she had to ask for help with.  The Old Testament and New Testament are covered, divided into 26 parts.  Some of the titles from the Old Testament are The Very Good Beginning, God's People Grow, and God's Promise Remains.  New Testament parts include God's Promised One is Born, Jesus Reveals God's Kingdom, and Letters to Live By. You can read an excerpt here to get an idea of the writing style and see the Table of Contents.

If you're like me, you can get overwhelmed by all the choices in children's Bibles and you wonder what the differences really are.  The Big Picture does just what the title says: it clearly links the stories together into one "big picture" of God's plan of redemption.  For instance, in the New Testament stories of Jesus, they make references like, "Remember when Adam and Eve sinned?" and things of that nature to pull it all together for children.  I think it's a wonderful idea to cohesively connect the stories to make it apparent to children that God has planned all things to work together for our good from the very beginning.  It conveys the meaning to children in a way that makes it obvious that these are more than just nice Sunday School stories.  It also opens the door to discussions with your little ones to lead them into deeper faith.

The book itself is a nice hardcover with a dust jacket and should stand up well to being used frequently by children.  Although it is thick and heavy, Big Sis says the square shape makes it easy to hold in her lap.  She enjoys reading the stories, whether we read them aloud together or she chooses it for silent reading on her own.  As I mentioned, even Lil Sis at age 2 enjoys the pictures and hearing the stories read aloud.  I know it's a book that will get much use from our daughters in the years to come.  It's a great addition to our family bookshelf.






Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy for review from Crossway. No other compensation was given for my honest opinion.

In case you should decide to purchase the book, I included my affiliate links for your convenience.  Purchases made at these links will help this stay-at-home mom's homeschooling budget.  Thank you!