Thursday Thoughts: Bibles, Bibles Everywhere

Yesterday afternoon I spent some time in a nearby Barnes & Noble. This particular B&N has one of the larger children's sections in the area, and I thought it would be a good way to check what is generally available in terms of Bibles for children. Their children's religion section had about 20 Bibles and bible storybooks. I glanced through several, including ones that fall in the category of "Baby's First Bible," and took a stack of likely prospects to the cafe to peruse with a sugar-free vanilla latte.

One of the first things I looked at was the illustrations. If everyone depicted looks like me (in other words, Northern European), then it's not a version I would recommend. The worst of that category is Daryl Lucas' (writer) and Daniel Hochstatter's (illustrator) Eager Reader Bible: Stories to Grow on. Adam has blond hair and is even paler than I am, and Eve has red hair. Another otherwise good selection, Kenneth Taylor's My First Bible in Pictures (15th Anniversary Edition), had illustrations that looked like they came right out of the 1950's and 1960's, and you know the type I mean.

Next, what stories did the writer or editor decide to include, and how were they presented? I was actually surprised by the number of them that included the story of David and Bathsheba. Granted, some of them should have left the story out once it had been watered down so as to be nearly incomprehensible, but some did a good job for the targeted age groups. Other sections worth checking when looking at children's Bibles include Cain and Abel; Jacob and Esau; Samson; Ruth; the Psalms; Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents; the Epistles; and the Book of Revelation. What is included and how it is presented will often reveal the theological bias of the author/editor/publisher.

Finally, how is the text itself? Is it a simplified translation or a paraphrase? Is the reading level appropriate? The one glaring absence was anything based on the New Revised Standard Version.

Here is what I found at Barnes & Noble that you might want to review yourself when choosing bibles for your younger and elementary-age children:

American Bible Society. Read and Learn Bible: Stories from the Old and New Testaments. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1994, 2008. Age level: 4-7.

Hastings, Selina and Eric Thomas (illustrator). The Children's Illustrated Bible. New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc., 2005. Age level: 9-12. "Color photographs and illustrations of the people, places, plants, and animals of the bible... Prepared with the help of scholars, religious advisers, and education experts." (From the back cover.) This is the Bible I would have loved to have had as a kid.

O'Malley, Kathleen (illustrator). NIrV Discoverer's Bible for Early Readers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkids, 2002. Age level: 6-10. "...a simplified version of the NIV created specifically for children. It's not a bible storybook, but rather the complete Bible text written at the third-grade reading level..." (From the flyleaf.) Here's an example of how the NIrV compares with the NIV for Genesis 1:1-2:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn't have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (NIrV)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (NIV)

Pulley, Kelly (illustrator). The Beginners Bible: Timeless Children's Stories. Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkids, 2005. Age level: 4-8.z,pz.This morning I did some checking online and found that there are NRSV children's Bibles. Our bookstore (Episcopal Books & Resources/Catalyst) had the "deluxe gift cover" edition (there's also a hardback edition with a Noah's Ark illustration on front cover) from Abingdon Press (affiliated with the United Methodist Church) so I checked it out. Unlike the NIrV, the text is the NRSV with the addition of some pronunciation helps, callouts, maps, a dictionary (adapted from Abingdon's Young Reader's Bible Dictionary), and illustrations by Dennis Jones. Abingdon says it is geared toward 8-12 year-olds.

So what are some of your favorite and not-so-favorite Bibles to use with children?