Scripture
Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3). The innocent trust and curiosity of children is a beautiful thing. Saint Augustine's observation that "[The Bible is] shallow enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim" offers encouragement to share our studies of scripture with our children.
Here is a list of our favorite storybook Bibles--books written for children to relate to the true stories of the Bible in kid-friendly terms and at a kid-friendly pace. They have lovely illustrations to hold attention. These also all do a wonderful job of staying true to the Biblical text. Each has it's own unique selling points. Scroll down for a list of other resources such bible story podcast links and tools for discussing Bible stories with your family.
Tyler Van Halteren
A beautifully illustrated story Bible that emphasizes the story details and its place in the overarching story of redemption.
Aleksander Jasinski
Illustrated by
Sally Lloyd-Jones
A modern classic—the perfect sweet combination of sincere retelling of stories in scripture with enough added story color and explanation to perfectly engage young children.
Jago
Illustrated by
Kevin DeYoung
A very comprehensive story Bible with chapters that are still short enough to read to younger kids.
Don Clark
Illustrated by
Resources for Bible discussions
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Prefer podcast Bible stories? check out:
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The Biggest Story podcast (from the author of the Biggest Story Bible Storybook)
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Kids Corner story podcasts (from ReFrame Ministries, a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church)
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Bible Stories for kids podcast (from Cornerstone Fellowship)
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Free Bible Images has a collection of free illustrations and story planners for a host of Bible stories. These could be used in tandem with a storybook Bible or instead of.
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Tips for leading family discussions:
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Simple questions can often jump start conversation. Here's a few to try: What it would have felt like to be {name of character in the story you're discussing}? or Did anything confuse you about this story? or What can we learn about God from this story?
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To encourage our kids to ask questions, we have started a "question of the week" tradition--they can ask any question about God or the Bible or Theology. They ask it and we write it down in a special notebook and then discuss it. Often these questions circle back to Bible stories or theology we've been discussing lately.
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For resources to help adults as you read the Bible to prepare for family discussions, check out:
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Bible Project - a free resource/app that offers animated explanations of all books of the Bible as well as other resources.
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Blue Letter Bible - a free resource/app that is provides access to commentaries and other support materials. It also has content about the original language of the texts.
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Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible - a study Bible that helps to explain historic context around Bible content.
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More books to be investigated...
The titles below are on my "to investigate" list.
Disclaimer: I have not yet personally looked at these, so I do not know if I would recommend them or not.
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Jesus our True Friend by Sally Lloyd Jones and Jago (coming October 2025!)
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The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy & Illustrated by Trish Mahoney
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The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski
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God's Big Picture Bible Storybook by N.T. Wright
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CSB Explorer Bible for Kids - a complete bible with kid-friendly resources
