My Favorite Story Bibles for Kids and Families

If you want to read story Bibles to your kids or grandkids, here is my list of the best story Bibles. If you want to give one as a gift to a child or family, this is also the list for you.

  1. The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy. This is most likely to help your kids get saved. This is the best all-around story Bible. It tells the stories correctly while still being fun. It is clear about the gospel and how to be saved, and it has an engaging question with each story. It is the only story Bible on my list written by a Baptist; all the others are written by Presbyterians. This is relevant because I suspect it affects how the authors present an implicit gospel call to children. Kennedy presents the gospel explicitly many times in his book.
  2. Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This is most likely to make you cry for joy. This is the story Bible that kicked off the modern story Bible movement. The story is so beautifully told. It's strength is how Lloyd-Jones explains how every story in the Bible points to Jesus (Luke 24).
  3. The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by Kevin DeYoung. This is the most likely to teach you how to understand lesser-known stories in the Bible. It includes stories like Sodom and Gomorrah and the daughters of Zelophehad. We bought this recently and haven't finished it yet, but it is a great one. DeYoung's voice is really strong--like a fun dad telling Bible stories to his kids. Adults will learn a lot about Bible stories from this.
  4. The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm. This is most likely to teach you the grand sweep of the Bible. This is simple and shorter than the others, but I refer to it regularly in sermons.
If I could change one thing about story Bibles, I would write one that uses dialogue. Every story Bible I've read, tells instead of showing the action. I've been collecting ideas to write a story Bible for a few years, and that is one of the ideas. 

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About Me

I'm a husband and father. Pastor of Manchester Baptist Church in Manchester, IL. I graduated from Bryan College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I grew up in Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, and Georgia. I write about my personal and professional interests here on my website. I'm a former personal trainer and have stayed interested in fitness. You'll see a mix of things I'm interested in. Topics might include fitness, gardening, coffee, ice cream, church leadership, theology, tech, reviews, etc. This website is my social media. I deleted all of my accounts except for LinkedIn. That is why you won't find me in any of those places. * This is a personal blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. You can email me at joe[...
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