Hi Nancy - welcome to the Wondercafe!

I really like Ralph Milton's, "The Family Story Bible." Ralph Milton is a well-known speaker and author in the United Church. I use "The Family Story Bible" with the children in my (United Church) Sunday School class and I find that the stories are easy for the children to read and understand - and that they fit very well with my United Church values.

Welcome nancyC. When my children were little they had a Picture Bible. I don't know who made it. Told the bibles in pictures with a little bit of writing.

I hope others are able to help you more.

Welcome nancyC. When my children were little they had a Picture Bible. I don't know who made it. Told the bibles in pictures with a little bit of writing.

I hope others are able to help you more.

Oops double post. Sorry :)

Hi NancyC - welcome to WonderCafe - I hope you'll stick around and participate in some discussions here - it's an interesting place.

I think we had the same Family Story Bible that somegal mentions.  It was well written, with great illustrations. It highlights the main stories of Christian faith, of most relevance & interest to children, not the entire bible.

Have you looked at the UCRD?  They have various versions available there - all consistent with United Church outlook (not that that is always consistent itself!)  And they'll ship it out to you - easy!  http://www.ucrdstore.ca/bibles.html

I think The Brick Bible is a fantastic choice for your children. It makes learning the bible stories visual and fun.

The author, Brendan Powell Smith, is not a conservative Christian. In fact, he's very much the opposite.

Old Testament:

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Brick-Bible-Spin-Testament/dp/1616084219

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Brick-Bible-New-Spin-Old-Smith/9781616084219-item.html?ref=Indigo:Blog:Nonfiction&cookieCheck=1

New Testament:

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Brick-Bible-New-Testament-New-Brendan-Powell-Smith/9781620871720-item.html?ikwid=brick+bible&ikwsec=Books

Note that all the ratings on both sites are 5 stars.

I too vote for Ralph Milton's Bible-It had a different name when it first came out-anyhow it's Canadian and available in soft cover or hardcover

and he also has a series of bible stories organized by the lectionary -handy for sunday school. called the children's lectionary bible-and then year A etc.

 Wood Lake Books is the publisher.

Raph's wife is a United Church Minister.

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

-CS Lewis

Wanting to reflect UCC values - something to appeal to children - coloourful - short chapters - beginning in Genesis and continuing to the stories of Jesus and the early church - I can't think of a better book than Ralph Milton's Family Story Bible.  Excellent for both home and Sunday School. 

I've seen bits and pieces of the Brick books recommended by Chansen.  They might be interesting to have as a supplement.  I can see using them with older children to stimulate discussion. 

Especially for girls, you might also want to look at Lois Wilson's "Miriam, Mary and Me".  A bit dated, but a good way to affirm girls in the church. 

lol - some of the Brick Testament, if I remember, is Adult Accompaniment ;)  But no different that what you read.  It's just harder to gloss over when its in lego-brick pictures.  Fun idea but ....

I love Ralph Milton's story bible.  It isn't a line by line bible, but he has told the stories in good groupings that make themes and ancient texts accessible.  His retelling of the final days & resurrection are beautiful and haunting.  I use this often in church because even for adults, it brings stories to life. 

There are others that just present the orginial text, or rewrite it and add pictures.  I never was interested in those as a kid.  They didn't hold my attention.

i'm sure it's not any worse than the source text? :3  genocide, murder, angel wrasslin, attempted angel rape, murdering children, etc etc...

surely with children bibbles you don't want to 'dumb down' the bibble?

sheesh, white people in Canada ;3

Hi nancyC and welcome to WonderCafe.ca

I am not a fan of "children's" Bibles for the simple fact that they are heavily editted and seriously redacted.

The idea being that the scriptures need to be less frightening and more comfortable.

There is stuff in the scripture which is brutal.  Critics point to that as being evidence of Christianity trying to scare folk into obedience whereas removal of such pieces is spun as cover-up.  Let your kid walk through any children's hospital and they will immediately see that life is no garden path.

The brutal pieces of scripture give every reader pause (every serious reader pauses--those who keep plowing through are either looking for grist for a particular mill) which is not a bad thing.

The best Bible any child can have is the one that their parents will read with them and when the kids ask questions about any particular story the best service their parents can give them is an honest answer.  "I don't know" is one such honest answer.

If you don't want to read your kids the brutal pieces (which can have a beauty that is haunting--ie., the book of Lamentations) then don't read them.  Don't by a Bible which pretends those parts do not exist.

Grace and peace to you.

John

excellent riff, revjohn

Revjohn - I'm thinking of the times my grandchildren have slept over - maybe when they were 4 or 5.  I would get our The Family Story Bible (they called it Grammy's God book) and we would choose a story for bedtime.  For some unknown reason Granddaughter was partial to the story of Jesus visit with Mary and Martha and she identifited with Martha.  We would look at the pictures.  I would read.  We would talk about it. 

I really can't imagine often reading directly from the NRSV to pre-schoolers unless I choose the stories carefully and explained or interpretted them.  And that would make it heavily edited and seriously redacted. 

I am not much for the 'read the Bible all the way through' school of thought.  I can imagine the little ones pulling their pillows over their heads and pretending to be asleep long before I reached Leviticus and they would certaining be turned off and not listening (I would hope) by the time I reached the psalm where (according to the psalmist) God is pleased by them taking their enemies little ones and dashing their heads against a stone. 

Nor do I approach the Bible like a lottery - open it and point - read from wherever your finger is pointing to the end of the chapter. 

If I had no book other than the Bible I read myself, I would have to pick and choose which parts I would read to my Grandchildren, and I would have to be prepared to interrupt them with my limited understanding.  I'm glad Ralph Milton has done it for me.

Wow, thank you all for your comments. I will definately be back. I am going to check out Ralph Miltons Bible and also The Brick bible.  As was mentioned, I dont want my grandson to hide his head under a pillow when I read. I want him to get his book and bring it to me to read over and oner. I find so much of the bible comforting, and I want that for him also. Some may disagree with me, but I do not see the need to read the "brutal" parts to him right now. I want him see feel hope when we read it together. The rest will come later. i just want to peek his interest for now. I love worshipping in our United Church as it is a church of hope, faith, and love for all humanity. and of course all inclusive. It tackles the difficult times in life, and I for one want to be part of that. I want that for my grandson.  Again, thank you all.  Have a great weekend. xxx

Nancy -you are probably new to wondercafe

Chansen is our resident athesist. His reccommendation of the Brick Bible for children is made in that vein.

The rest of us do not think it's suitable for young children unless you want them to grow up atheist!

Hi seeler,

Not really.  That makes it a choice.  You have the freedom to read or not to read particular texts.

Children's Bible's do not offer that choice.

That is my issue with Children's Bibles in general, an editor has decided what is "safe" for children and to be completely safe the same editor has expunged from the Bible material which is legitimately part of the Bible.

Which is not what I have advocated for in this thread.  If I have advocated for anything it is that complete Bibles be used when reading from.

Well, if we are going to take things to extremes why turn to scripture at all if what you really want is warm and fuzzy?  Why not just pop in a Barney DVD?

As a parent myself I think I have a handle on what is a bit much in terms of bed-time story or simple cuddle time reading.  If it helps to paint a mental picture that I strap my children into a chair and jab them with cattle prods while reading the book of numbers have at it.

Which is essentially what a Children's Bible is right?  A collection of warm and fuzzy stories.  You can be sure that you will read about Abraham but not likely the part where he asks his wife to pretend that she is his sister so the foreign King won't feel the need to kill him before he sleeps with her.

It is completely fair for you to put more trust in Ralph's limited understanding than your own or even mine.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Actually, I'm not an anesthetist, though I did like your "vein" reference.

as a response to Inanna - No such sugar-coating from me... I highly value attention-grabbing teaching moments, but flipping through colourful pics is much more front & centre than skimming painfully through oodles of text.  And if you're going to bring up dashed babies against rocks, or curses on enemies, or sex with fathers, it ought to be hand in hand with some context and teaching. 

lol- the brick text is amusing, to think who spent all those hours working through it with his box of legos.

@RevJohn, maybe its easier to flip open a story bible and peak their interest. I'd hardly call Ralph Milton's understanding 'limited.'  Parents want things they can trust, and my experience is that they don't all trust themselves & their understandings because they themselves haven't had the chance to understand it.  Stepping stones are alright.  Offering accessible tools & teaching parents to teach their kids is a tricky timely issue and we hardly get a chance between hockey and homework.

The Brick Bible is amazing. It was an absolutely Herculean labour of love.

rev.john - your comments make me wonder if you have ever read Ralph Milton's book. 

Why is it important for you to say that chansen is different than you?  Is your faith getting in the way of treating people as people?

"The rest of us"?  Speak for yourself, m'dear :3

Hi John, I think that kids need to be told bible stories that are children appropriate. eg. Milton or Lois . I also agree with Birthstone "attention-grabbing teaching moments". It has been my experience that parents ( even if you have resource gatherings) do not put their names foreward to teach in Church School because they don't feel bible literate or competent to do this.

The NRSV , imo, does not cut it for children. It is one of the reasons I liked Whole People of God for Church School curriculum.

Yuppers; it has been proven that showing both text & images (like comics or graphic novels) is the best way to convey information than just text or images alone...

Children are resilient &, I think, 'smarter' than us adults...they can see through much of our silly anxieties and political games because they haven't been taught them yet...and that includes worry over 'adult things' in da bibble...

Hi seeler,

Actually I have and I even own one.

So my opinion is based on some actual experience with and not a hasty rush to judgement of the whole Children's Bible industry.

I know it seems wrong somehow for me to be a minister in the United Church and not gush over anything Milton has touched.  I have also read quite a bit of Spong and liked only the parts when I was finished and could move onto something else that I found more edifying.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Perhaps you're just not Spong-worthy?

Hi Birthstone,

WonderCafe.ca being set up as a place to avoid easy answers let me agree with you.  It is easier to flip open a Children's Bible and peak a child's interest.  Do we explain that there are other stories in the Bible that aren't covered or do we allow them to discover that all on there own?

When do we give up with the easy and take a stab at something harder?

Would you call it 'unlimited?'

Why are you not similarly concerned that I described the understanding of seeler and myself as 'limited?'

The most insulting thing about the word 'limited" is that it suggests somebody might not know everything.  Most often we take that as given.

I suspect that you are in the paint with this assessment.  There is a difference between offering a Children's Bible as an accessible tool and teaching parents to teach their kids. 

Grace and peace to you.

John

The congregation I came from gave out Bibles to kids as they finished grade 3. My daughter received a good news version.

The next day she said to me " What did they do with the bad news parts?"

LOL Tabitha.  Kids are so perceptive.  What did you daughter think of receiving this, and did she use it, or did it just go on the bookshelf?

I wonder - do other churches routinely present bibles to kids?  At what age?  I know our confirmands are given one, but I don't think the younger kids are.  

Years back in about Grade 5 or so, my kids got the Gospels at school. Wouldn't happen now. I have 4 of them around.

Carolla - at our church, kids are given a Children's Bible at the end of Grade 5, when they leave Sunday School and join Youth Group. They are given an "adult" Bible when they graduate from high school.

Kids say the darndest things.  (and most perceptive)

We have a few 'Good News Version' bibles around the house.  Mainly ones the kids got from church or youth group.  I'm surprised at how often they end up in adult's hands - like at a Bible study/discussion group.  Many people consider these paraphrases to be actual bibles yet when reading them beside a good translation they fall short.

I'd rather see little children being read to out of what is obviously a 'children's bible' or 'family bible' and when they are ten or so being encouraged to read the story from a good translation of the Bible, than reading one of these 'dummied down' versions and thinking it is an actual text.

i'm still amazed that kids survive their parent's attempts (good and bad) to make them into versions of ourselves :3

i remember one time i was over at my sister's and, seeing the sun streaming through her door i remarked to her second youngest son "look, a G_d beam..." He looked at it, thought for a bit and asked me if those little things floating around in it are g_ds...

my wife has some pretty nifty anecdotes as well...one kid in her sunday school made the logical conclusion aboot Jesus' heritage..."you mean he's a BASTARD??!" :3

bless the children

lol @chansen

Did my kids read their bibles? Hmm..... Daughter did-at confirmation I gave her a copy of "the message"-

She likes to debate beliefs

Both sons-not so much for reading of anything

Rounded up a Bible each as they went off to IVCF Pioneer Camps.

Honestly, I think kids should read bibles. Seriously. I think it's important to know the bible. I wish I knew it better, but I've learned a lot from being here.

I also think it's important that the bible stories wait until the child has the ability to ask  good questions. If your goal is to program the child like you would a computer, by all means, start really early. If your goal is a child who can think for themselves, let them develop their reading and comprehension skills a while longer. And then, by all means, get them a bible. And I do think the Brick Bible is a good choice - both the OT and NT editions.

There is nothing wrong with Children's Bibles at the age when they are appropriate (I am also of the opinion thaty there are good ones and bad ones out there so one has to be judicious in choosing).  I would say the issue arises when folks are not challenged to move beyond that place.  Too many adults are comfortable in a stage of faith development where they don't engage the scripture story fully simply because nobody led them into that deeper relationship as they grew.

hey, i wonder if there is any difference to be found between religious folks who give their kidduns dumbed down versions of their holy books and religious folks who wait till their kidduns are more grown up?  might there have been a whole lot less of horrific violence in the past if these parents had been more humble?

sounds like a worthy study

Rather than giving a kid a "children's" Bible, I'd concentrate (and have done as a parent and grandparent) on fostering their curiosity, their imaginations and their sense of wonder, whilst being very open about my faith and my many questions… that's has been enough to lead my "girls" into a healthy, open-minded, critical Christianity that they re happy to "own". Children's Bibles, in my personal experience of, cripes, 55-60 years ago — quite apart from being the most annoying birthday presents a mad aunt could inflict — were incredibly unhelpful, banal and patronising. I'm sure they've improved but I haven't been inclined to go looking).

As an eight-12 year-old, I got vastly more in the way of foundations of  faith from Edmund Spenser's 'Faerie Queen (in Spenserian English) and Jacques Cousteau's 'The Silent World'. Together with spending as much time in the ocean as possible, these got my faith "cooking". The wonders of the ocean especially.

Friends who actually read their "children's" Bibles seemed to mostly grow up through a few years of idiotic fundamentalism to blossom as angry atheists. I met a lot of them during my "anarcho-atheist period". I moved on; many of them didn't.

I expect they would say that they were the ones who moved on, while you moved back. It's a matter of perspective.

But here's the dilemma - drive Christianity into young minds, and perhaps it takes, and perhaps it backfires. Or, wait until the kids are older, and there is a good chance that they'll dismiss the claims of the bible outright.

I don't think there is a sure fire way to create a believer any more, because there is too much good information out there now - the Internet and its open discussion of ideas is eroding faith by bringing people with questions and doubts together with good reasons for dismissing faith. But the best way probably remains to get to them early, and help them build up a list of pat answers to the common questions.

If your goal is to build a believer in Canada in the 21st century, I think the odds are seriously stacked against you.

For any child I suggest the NIrV.

I had not heard of that version, Jae, so I looked it up. Seems to be written in very simple English, with a target audience of ESLs.

I had to look up how it would deal with cruelty and violence in the bible, so I looked up Genesis 7, just to see:

It had never hit me before, perhaps because KJV counts them as "fowl", but all the birds died in the flood? Even the ducks?

Throwing rain water at a duck in an attempt to drown it seems rather pointless, if you ask me.

Note to NancyC: If your grandson points out stuff like this, you've got a bright one on your hands. Your chances of turning him into a Christian will plummet, but I assume your desire for a smart and inquisitive grandson would outweight your desire to help raise another believer.

Any update from NancyC? I'm curious what version she went with.