Here we are, already into the days of Christmastide. Pull out those great little books Christmas: The Season of Light and Life by Emily Hunter McGowin and Epiphany: The Season of Glory by Fleming Rutledge to get more out of this time of year. Sure we have New Years coming soon but to allow our very sense of time to be shaped by the elemental things of our faith is more urgent — most helpful and very good.  Both of these books are in the “Fullness of Time” series (IVP formatio). We have each at $21.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59.

Both are small hardbacks, great to give or keep for yourself, explaining the history and meaning of each season of the church year. Highly recommended.

I’ll say it yet again soon but don’t forget that there are two new devotionals this year that start in Advent and invite us into a routine of reading about the church calendar.  Many astute reader have joyfully named A Beautiful Year: 52 Meditations on Faith, Wisdom, and Perseverance by Diana Butler Bass (St. Martin’s Essentials; $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40) as their favorite book this past season. Her meditation which starts the book, exploring how the ways of being and values implied by the Roman calendar can be countered by the liturgical calendar  as we orient our lives around Christ, is well worth the price of this wonderful book. It offers meaty, delightful, weekly essays for a year.

Claude Atcho, a professor of Black literature and an Anglican priest, recently released Rhythms of Faith: A Devotional Pilgrimage Through the Church Year (Waterbrook; $25.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.00.) He offers a year’s worth of daily readings, helping us walk with Jesus “in a rhythm of remembrances, renewals and formation.” I like it a lot.

Both books insist that the gospel is more than a set of doctrines, more, even, than a message, but a story to be lived. One way we live in to and embody our sacred story is by embracing a Biblical view of time itself.

And of course, that view of seasons and story comes to us through the grand, messy meta-narrative known as the Holy Scriptures. And, yep, many of us will make some sort of commitments in this new year to read it more intentionally, more carefully, more faithfully. I’ll make some suggestions about tools to do that soon.

FIVE THOUGHTFULLY DONE NEW BIBLE STORYBOOKS

In this edition of BookNotes, near the end of the year, I’d like to celebrate five great children’s Bibles, new resources that are really spectacular. These are beautifully and creatively designed and featured a lot of text so they are not quite for preschoolers. Delightful as they look, with fabulous art, I’d suggest these for older kids, even those in older elementary or middle school ages. I even think adults could supplement their standard Bible reading (using a few different translations and a study Bible or two) with these sorts of wonderful, clear, inspiring, colorful re-tellings of the tales.

I love these kinds of books.

There are so many more; we really are in a golden age of great kid’s Bibles. Just think of the amazing (and interactive) The Peace Table: A Storybook Bible released by Herald Press and one we love. For younger children there’s the classic The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkidz) and the splendid Growing in God’s Love: A Storybook Bible edited and curated by Libby Caldwell and Carol Wehrheim (flyway books). For somewhat older readers, we have raved about The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids by Mariko Clark, illustrated by Rachel Eleanor (Convergent) and the really solid God’s Big Picture Bible Storybook: 140 Connection Bible Stories of God’s Faithful Promises by none other than N.T Wright, illustrated by Helena Perez Garcias (Zonderkidz.)

Allow me to highlight just five new ones. Each is glorious, unique and enthusiastically recommended. Sure, each may be flawed somewhere, somehow; you may not love every word choice or illustration. Of course. But I’m sure you and your children will be truly blessed by these great resources and maybe get a fresh appreciation for the grand story told in the Bible. And at least four of these are so excellently illustrated they are a true sight to behold.

All are 20% off and we can ship them promptly.

The Kingdom and the King Storybook Bible Bob Hartman, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri (The Good Book Company) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I simply cannot say enough about this marvelous new storybook Bible. I’ve longed for a full Bible picture book to be illustrated by Catalina Echeverri — you should know her playful but enticing work from the “Tales That Tell The Truth” series of wonderful picture books that usually connect stories from across the Bible with a gospel-centeredness that is splendid. This one is playfully but thoughtfully told by storyteller Bob Hartman and it seems (as the title suggests) to underscore the Kingship of Jesus, how the reign of God through the saving Messiah, is the key to bringing together God’s faithfulness throughout the unfolding drama. Wow.

As you can tell from the cover, this is bright and rich, multiethnic and fun without being goofy.  I do not think it is cavalier although there are touches of whimsy and plenty of smiles. There are 70 stories from Creation to New Creation. And lots of great design features.

You can read this out loud with gusto to kids as young as four or five or just give it to older readers who will be absorbed in the clear, faithful storytelling and be intrigued by the wonderful illustrations. It’s very well made with good paper and a nice red ribbon marker, too. An excellent choice.

See a good sample of several pages HERE. Be sure to come on back and keep reading!

God’s Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible: The Story of God’s Big Diverse Family Esau McCaulley, illustrated by Rogério Coelho (Tyndale Kids) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I am sure you know that we admire Esau McCaulley, an Anglican priest and Biblical scholar (who studied with N.T. Wright) now teaching at Wheaton. He edited and curated the series on the liturgical calendar (“The Fullness of Time” mentioned above) and is respected (or dissed by loud-mouthed bigots) for his excellent Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope. A few years ago he did a kids book about an African American girl’s hair (linked to Pentecost!) called Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit And this Fall he did a solidly Christian picture book about going to a BLM March called Andy Johnson and the March for Justice. We love how an academic can do personal memoir and high-end Biblical scholarship, popular level liturgics and colorful kids books!

Anyway, I will just say this about this must-have kid’s Bible resource: it emphasizes how God’s big plan all along was to create a community of blessed people, diverse and multi-ethnic. In Esau’s easy-to-follow retelling of the key point of the Biblical story, he shows the way in which people of color and diverse nations play a key part. This is brilliantly insightful, telling little ones stuff that, frankly, many of us have missed in our devoted Bible reading.

I will also say this: God’s Colorful Kingdom, good as it is, important as it is, solid as it is (theologically and exegetically) is in the voice of a pastor and dad. That is, Esau retells the story and explains stuff, almost like little homilies along the way. That makes it really interesting and useful, even if it may seem maybe a bit more than a Bible storybook paraphrase. It’s a multi-ethnic Sunday school curriculum based clearly on Scripture, explained. There’s a lovely personal forward by Beth Moore.

There are 16 Old Testament stories and 15 New Testament stories (including a few not often told in storybook Bibles.) The art is curious and plentiful and younger kids will be attracted as will those at least up to 10 or so.

God’s heart for justice is woven throughout Scripture, and it is prime time for a project like God’s Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible! I am excited for children to explore this ancient message that is incredibly relevant for today’s families. Esau writes with wisdom and love, and I enjoyed his faithful teaching of familiar stories with careful notes of God’s heart for the diverse humanity He created. I felt both sadness and joy as I flowed through the pages. As a pastor’s kid, I was taught that God loved everyone, but sadly, the material I grew up with did not illustrate this truth with accurate representation. That’s why I am overjoyed that my grandson will not have to merely imagine the Kingdom of God as a place that welcomes everyone; he will see it page after page in this storybook Bible! The theme is brilliantly amplified by Rogério Coelho’s illustrations. God’s Colorful Kingdom will be a treasured and dog-eared companion for families that want their children to see the beauty of diversity in Scripture.                     — Dorena Williamson, best-selling children’s author of Every Breath, Every Blessing: Finding Hope on Tough Days and Crowned with Glory

The Just Love Story Bible Jacqui Lewis & Shannon Daley-Harris, illustrated by Cheryl “Ras” Thursday (Beaming Books) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I was not sure if I would appreciate this storybook Bible, wondering if it was just a bit too focused on social justice concerns and inadequate on matters like the resurrection. I respect Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, a Black preacher from the historic Collegiate Church in Manhattan, which dates to 1628, and was eager to check it out. I was overcome with joy as I read it, captivated by the way in which these authors glean insight, faithful, hard-won insight, from the heart of the Biblical stories. I nearly wept at times, reading and pondering their unique take on the text. I was captivated and this one has become one of my favorite books of its kind.

Of course we shouldn’t mind they point out that some of the Bible stories never really happened (Jesus made up parables, after all!) although it has caused some to bad-mouth it, already. (Al Mohler says things about it that I found to be simply inaccurate.) Of course we should be glad they highlight some key Bible teaching that more conventional study Bibles often omitted. It was the great Apostle of the crosss, Paul, of course, who said the greatest thing is love. So let’s emphasis that, even as leaders like MLK did, that love an be a revolutionary force for beloved community and social good.

I highly recommend The Just Love Story Bible, whether you are a stalwart member of a progressive denomination or if you are somewhat new to the ways in which liberation and freedom and justice and inclusion and dignity are core to the Bible’s teaching. This will teach you and your children to get the freedom stories as understood not only by the historic black church but for anyone with eyes to see the truest telling of the Biblical tales.

Not only do I love the way they explain the flow of the Biblical stories and the nature of genres and Biblical storytelling in words kids can understand, I appreciate the way they hint at the cultural, religious, and historical context of ancient times. And I adore the colorful artwork — with many of the characters in various hues of brown. The art is upbeat and clever, modern but not

eccentric. Kudos to Ras Thursday for her very good work.

There are Fifty-two Bible stories: Twenty-six from the Old Testament and twenty-six from the New Testament. I’d say maybe ages 6 – 12 or older.

Reverend Jacqueline J. Lewis is a public theologian and the first Black or female senior minister at the progressive, multicultural Collegiate Church in Manhattan, which dates to 1628. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Drew University, she was the creator of the MSNBC online show Just Faith and the PBS show Faith and Justice.

The Story of All Stories: A Story Bible for Young Catholics Emily Simpson Chapman, illustrated by Diana Rennin (Votive / Word on Fire) $49.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $39.96

This gem was, again, a bit of a surprise to me, not knowing what to expect. Like mainline Protestant and evangelical publishers, one never quite knows the theological language or aesthetic quality of books from Roman Catholic presses. Some are great and some are awful. The Story of All Stories, for a handful of reasons, is one of the best children’s Bible storybooks we’ve seen. It is expensive, but it is majestic and beautiful.

It has the shape and format more of a regular Bible or thick book (and in this regard it brings to mind the very modern-looking, hefty The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by Kevin DeYoung and graphic designer Don Clark.) But when one opens up this standard book it is a full color children’s storybook edition, jam-packed with both text and vivid art. I’m struck with the writing and the visuals; as with the others on this list there is attentive storytelling that is serious about communicating the Scriptural text and art that is a bit cool, but not goofy or needlessly eccentric. The design is so impressive, with lots of colored pages with different colored ink, making it inviting and exciting.

A big question for many readers of BookNotes will be if there is much of a uniquely Roman Catholic bias in the telling of the stories or if any overtly Roman doctrine colors the rendering. I looked for this and, frankly, found nothing objectionable to this Presbyterian’s eyes. Sure they have Jesus saying that what we rather rudely call the communion elements are His body and blood since that’s what the gospel accounts have him saying.

There is a story from Tobit, and one helpful entry about the Maccabees.

A very special feature of this mature children’s Bible storybook are the epigrams at the end of most stories, which include a quote from a figure from the Church Fathers (like Bede or Justin Martyr or the Syrian Aphraht) or Saints like Augustine or Theresa Benedicta) or Popes or Catholic scholars (such as Cardinal Henry Newman, Fulton Sheen, or the modern day Bishop Robert Barron.) Under those pull quotes are a key point of the texts and what they call a “key connection” which is a gospel-centered application. (After the story of the cleansing of the temple, for instance, the “connect” is “Jesus cleaned our hearts so they can be hold spaces where God can dwell.”)

The author, by the way, is an award-winning woman out of Steubenville, Ohio, who has written several adult books as well as a few for kids — co-authored with the respected Scott Hahn. You can see her weekly newsletter on Substack, Through a Glass Darkly.

The art is exceptional — really excellent, often muted with browns and earth tones, with the characters properly portrayed as Middle Easterners (although lots of the men have very long hair.) Diana Renzina is a Latvian artist and this surely must be one of her major projects of her career. Kudos!

I only wish the cover didn’t say it is “for young Catholics as this is a story bible for all, young or old, Catholic or not. Maybe by giving it to a Protestant child or teen you know you’ll be quietly undoing years of religious conflict and even discrimination. This collection of Bible stories is a great gift, pointing us to Christ, who called us all to be one.

As with these others, you could read most of the stories out loud to a younger child, but it is for readers maybe ages 7 to 12 or 13.

God’s Stories As Told By God’s Children: An Illustrated Storybook Bible various authors and illustrators (The Bible for Normal People) $39.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $31.99

I have written about this when it first came out earlier this year (here) and I can’t help but list it again as there is nothing quite like it in print. It is a child-like storybook Bible written by serious Bible scholars, thoughtful leaders, Christian activists, men and women who are Protestant and Catholic, evangelical and mainline. As you may know The Bible for Normal People is an educational ministry (founded mostly by Pete Enns, author of How the Bible Really Works) offering a reasonable, non-fundamentalist approach to telling the Bible stories for all their worth, in ways that allow the stories to stand as inspired literature.

The title God’s Stories As Told By… may carry a bit of a double-meaning. Yes, obviously, these storied paraphrases of the texts, like every children’s storybook Bible, are being re-told in the words of ordinary people, God’s children, all. But maybe they are implying that that is how the whole Scriptures really came to be, anyway: obviously, these are fully human documents (divinely inspired, we believe) that tell what God was doing in their own ancient words. This is subtly by trying to offer a contextualized approach to Bible reading, even for kids.

Just for instance: the first chapter is on Jeremiah 29 (called “In the Beginning — “…that begins where you’d least expect.” Then it offers a grand telling of Genesis 1 (by Jared Byas) and another telling of how humans are made in God’s image (by Mari Jørstad.) I like those a lot.

Sidebars and “Let’s Talk” sections (with QR codes for even more discussion) offer plenty of extra kid-friendly conversations. There is stuff about history and about wisdom and about faithfulness and forgiveness. It’s ideal for those who want to have good conversations with kids about how we know what we know about faith and how the Bible came to be. They insist that the ancient conversations and tensions and questions and answers recorded in Sacred Scripture are the same we are invited into today (hence, the theme of ongoing discussion.) They say the Bible is weird like that — it is written by people but is God speaking, less with data and more with story, less “do’s and don’ts  and more a call to be wise. Let’s face it: the Bible is sort of weird and it’s fun to have a youth Bible just come out and say it.

One of the things I so appreciate about this remarkable collection is that some contributors are authors we respect, and some we even know. Carolyn Custis James does Genesis 16 and 21 in a bit called “Hey There, Stranger —the one with the God who sees.” Marlena Graves does John 13 (“Do This & Remember”) the story which reminds us of the servant nature of our King. Shane Claiborne colorfully retells Matthew 5 – 7 (“The Sermon on the Mount” — the lesson “about living and loving well”) and does the Good Samaritan story, too. They’ve got heavy weight (non-white) theologians like Miguel A. De La Torre and Drew Hart, mystics like Richard Rohr and indigenous faith leaders like Randy Woodley. They’ve even got the esteemed Epsiopalian Old Testament scholar Ellen Davis. There are pastors and parents literally from all over the world who have contributed.

The art is okay, varied, by illustrators from all over the world. Each has a special style but most are fairly conventional, often not too vivid.

I’d say this is for ages 6 – 12 or so.

They’ve got an amazing website that they call “Curious Faith Cues” where there are further maps and questions and expanded historical context. The family and group activities are amazing…  don’t miss it! We are one of the few bookstores promoting this and we’d love to send some out at our 20% off discounted price. Enjoy!

PLUS, THIS BONUS:

Jesus, Our True Friend: Stories to Fill Your Heart With Joy Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago (Zonderkidz) $21.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

Okay, one final one, brand new, wonderful, but not a full children’s storybook Bible, This grand new one is from the beloved creators of The Jesus Storybook Bible (“where every chapter whispers his name.”) Hooray for children’s writer Sally Lloyd-Jones (she has done over 40 books!) and the very creative designer and artist, Jago.  As you can tell from the title, it is a more limited telling of a few stories about Jesus. And I’d say it is for younger children maybe 4 – 8 or so.

This is slightly larger than most children’s picture books and the colors are vivid and while not exactly whimsical, certainly done with verve. Like the writing, which is bright and conversational, theologically informed, and utterly charming. It starts with a creative paraphrase of parts of John 1.  I love this.

As it say on the back,

The Bible tells the wonderful story of how God loves His children and comes to rescue them. And at the heart of that story is a young hero — the Great Rescuer, Jesus, God’s own Son. He stepped out of Heaven and came to live with us and show us what love is really like.

Stories include The Party That Went Wrong, Our True Friend, The Two Sisters Jesus Loved, Jesus and the Stone Throwers, Jesus and the Deadly Storm, Our True Older Brother, and Breakfast on the Beach. I wish we had room to show you more (the shot on the right is from the Mary and Martha story, which is very nicely done.)

As she notes in the beginning — on a wonderful page written to “children and their grown-ups” — these are seven Good News stories. “They come from theme when Jesus was on Earth. They start with a party and end with breakfast!” Then she says, earnestly, “I hope they fill your hearts with joy.”

We do too.

Buy a couple of these great volumes — give them to your children or grandchildren, your neighbor’s children, your church or public school library. Why not? Let’s start the New Year right, helping others find joy in reading the greatest story ever told. You shouldn’t ever be without a few good children’s resources around. We’ve got you covered.  Click below where it says “Order Here.”

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