A unique addition to the world of children's Bibles: My review of "The Berenstain Bears Storybook Bible"
A Bible so good the children fight over it...
Read on for an introduction to and my review of "The Berenstain Bears" Storybook Bible:
about the book
Join Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear as they read favorite Bible stories together as a family and imagine what it would have been like to see Adam and Eve in the garden, watch Noah build the ark, and listen as Jesus tells a parable to the people. Told with words and pictures in the beloved Berenstain style, twenty-three Old and New Testament stories come alive for young readers.
my review
The world of children's Bibles can be a crowded place, and trying to find one that stands out from the crowd can be a difficult task indeed. Enter, "The Berenstain Bears, Storybook Bible. My children were so enamored with it I had to intervene as they were arguing over who would be able to look at it next! I loved how the authors created a space to present the Bible as if populated by the world of Berenstain Bears. They start the book by pretending that Papa Bear is offering up some of the best stories ever, the ones from the Bible, and Brother, Sister, and Honey bear are all excited. As they listen to the stories, they are able to imagine the characters from within the world as they see it. There is definite truth to that, because as any of us listen to the Bible we can picture ourselves in the story and see how the eternal truths can apply to our own lives!
My children raved about the colorful and action-oriented pictures, and especially liked how their favourite stories came to life. All of their most loved stories are included in this book, including the creation story, the story of Noah and the Ark, or the story of Queen Esther. The stories are quite faithful to the Bible, although of course many details are missing compared to the real version. Sometimes I missed some of the details the original story has. For example, in the story of Noah as depicted in the Storybook Bible, the authors state that the people are puzzled that the ark is being built; in the actual story, Noah makes it very clear why the ark is being built and why the people need to turn from their sin. However, I recognize that it would be impossible to include every detail in a children's version of the Bible, and I am very pleased overall with how accurate the Storybook Bible is.
I have no doubt that this version of the Bible will be asked for by my children over and over again in the coming years. Though we have a number of children's Bibles in our home, this one definitely provides a unique and fun way to present the truth. I award it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
My children raved about the colorful and action-oriented pictures, and especially liked how their favourite stories came to life. All of their most loved stories are included in this book, including the creation story, the story of Noah and the Ark, or the story of Queen Esther. The stories are quite faithful to the Bible, although of course many details are missing compared to the real version. Sometimes I missed some of the details the original story has. For example, in the story of Noah as depicted in the Storybook Bible, the authors state that the people are puzzled that the ark is being built; in the actual story, Noah makes it very clear why the ark is being built and why the people need to turn from their sin. However, I recognize that it would be impossible to include every detail in a children's version of the Bible, and I am very pleased overall with how accurate the Storybook Bible is.
I have no doubt that this version of the Bible will be asked for by my children over and over again in the coming years. Though we have a number of children's Bibles in our home, this one definitely provides a unique and fun way to present the truth. I award it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Book has been provided courtesy of publicist Sonya Koson with HarperCollinsCanada, Ltd. Available from your favorite book retailer from Zondervan (Zonderkidz), a division of HarperCollins.
about the authors....
Stan and Jan Berenstain introduced the first Berenstain Bear books in 1962. Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents work together to write about and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too. Though Stan died in 2005, and Jan in 2012, Mike continues to create the delightful Bear adventures from the family home and studio in Pennsylvania, in an area that looks much like the sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country.
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