GOD’S BIG PROMISES BIBLE STORYBOOK
By Carl Laferton, illustrated by Jennifer
Davison
Good Book Company. 416 pages. £16.99
ISBN 978 1 784 988 128
This children’s Bible is a wonderful new resource for families and churches.
Carl Laferton has carefully retold Bible accounts chosen to fit with the overall theme of the Bible being ‘the story of how God made and kept AMAZING promises’. It is great to see content drawn from Genesis to Revelation – including prophets and epistles – as well as a broader range of ‘characters’ and events than might usually be found. The language is aimed at 3–7 year olds and is in an easy-to-read font as well as being good for reading aloud. All this is supported by eye-catching and colourful illustrations that capture the mood of the passages and the varying peoples and cultures.
Above all, though, this Bible will help children to have a bigger picture of who God is and how Jesus fulfils all God’s promises. It will help them to know how we can be part of Jesus’ people now and in the life to come, and be helped by the Holy Spirit to tell others about Him. Indeed, the whole feel of the book prompts faith in and praise to the saving, promise-keeping God!
Concepts such as sin, repentance and faith are clearly described and illustrated rather than used. On reflection, I think this will help children who are used to hearing the Bible taught as well as those who are new to the Bible to really get hold of the meaning. At times, there is a helpful interpretation of what is happening in the Bible text rather than a pure narrative of the events. One example of this would be in the handling of the trees in the Garden of Eden.
There are ‘five promise paths’, identified by colourful icons throughout the book. This opens up the possibility of taking time to follow each theme individually and marvelling further at God’s grace – what a great introduction to Biblical theology for little ones!
I am looking forward to using and recommending this Bible and to seeing the activity books and advent calendar that are being published to accompany it.
