Saturday, August 2, 2014

Bible Stories for Boys/Bible Stories for Girls


Bible Stories for Boys (written by Peter Martin) and Bible Stories for Girls (by Christian Goodings) are a beautiful set, nicely illustrated by Simona Bursi. Each tells a handful of Bible stories, re-written for children and punctuated with lots of illustrations to help hold their interest.

Bible Stories for Boys includes the story of Old Testament Joseph and his difficult relationship with his brothers; Gideon, the reluctant solider; David and Goliath; Jonah; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; the parable of the rich and poor man from Luke 16; Zacchaeus; and Paul in prison.

Bible Stories for Girls includes the story of young Miriam; Deborah and Jael; Naomi and Ruth; Esther; Mary and Martha; the parable of the widow and the judge from Luke 18; the parable of the foolish bridesmaids from Matthew 25; and Lydia.

What I Like: The illustrations are appealing, and I love the fact that Bible Stories for Girls includes some stories my daughter - who is intimately familiar with a wide range of Bible storybooks - didn't know, like the story of Jael. (Which, admittedly, is pretty violent, although the author doesn't go into grotesque details.)

What I Dislike: My children are really familiar with Bible stories typically told to children, and as I read these books, they were constantly asking, "Does the Bible really say that?" Most of the time, my answer was "no," because these books are so full of extra-biblical information. That is to say, they take creative license and tack on information about what people were thinking or what they said that simply isn't in the Bible.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: 5 - 9.


Publishing Info: Lion Hudson, 2014; ISBN:  978-0745963709 (boy's), 978-0745963716 (girl's); hardback, 48 pgs., $13.28

Buy Bible Stories for Boys at Amazon for $13.28
OR buy it at ChristianBook.com for $11.99

Buy Bible Stories for Girls at Amazon for $13.49
OR buy it at ChristianBook.com for $11.99

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