My Jesus Bible - A Review

My Jesus Bible

by

Text by Michael Berghof

Illustrated by Gill Guile

A Review

“My Jesus Bible” is a colorful, attractive children's Bible. The book consists of 20 stories pulled from Jesus’ life that would appeal to preschool children to 3rd or 4th graders. Given that information, this reviewer would recommend the book for children and their parents or Sunday School teachers.

I have two problems with the book. First, there seems to be some question as to what age group the book is actually designed for. Its physical design as a board book with a plastic handle would make it appear to be designed for the preschool child. The detail of the artwork would seem to appeal to the kindergartner or 1st grader. The size of the print and the writing itself would suggest that the book belongs in the hands of the older elementary school child. This final obstacle could be overcome by an older sibling or adult reading the material to a younger child or the availability of a recording to accompany the book (at this point this does not exist, as best I can tell). Though it can be said of any book, the purchaser will need to be aware of who will be using the book and how it will be used.

The second difficulty I see is a lack of Biblical references. These would be useful for both the older child and for the parents or Sunday School teachers working with child readers. It would allow the adult to familiarize himself or herself with the Biblical material from which 20 stories are drawn which becomes important because the stories are drawn from all four gospels - sometimes combining the events described by multiple authors. Having access to the underlying scriptures would prepare the adult reader to answer children’s questions and to familiarize themselves with Scripture’s content.

Do I recommend this book? YES. But only if the purchaser is aware of its limitations and willing to work with those limitations and child for whom the book is purchased.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.