Hide and Seek Devotional

Hide (the Word) and Seek (the Lord) Devotional
Stephen Elkins, "creator"
Amanda Gulliver, illustrator
Thomas Nelson
2012

Can you have too many kids' devotional guides? While I certainly like some story Bibles and devotionals better than others, I'm also inclined to think that just about anything that gets kids reading their Bibles and hiding God's Word in their hearts is on the right track. Enter: The Hide (the Word) and Seek (the Lord) Devotional!

What I like: This devotional gives a (very) short summary of a Bible story but suggests kids read it for themselves and gives the Scripture references. Each "chapter" is centered on a Bible verse that works thematically with the Bible story presented. Verses are organized in ABC format AND include full A-Z lists for BOTH Old and New Testaments!! The verses are not the "usual" contenders for their given letters, either. Rather, a key word that starts with that letter is used instead of merely the first letter of each verse. (The "Old Testament" and "New Testament" categories refer to the memory verse location, not necessarily that the coordinating story is from the same testament.) This means that some of my all-time favorite verses make an appearance (such as Zephaniah 3:17). Another bonus: there is a Scripture memory song for each verse. Lyrics are given at the bottom of the page. AND there are free downloads on Thomas Nelson for the songs as well as an audio version of the short story given on the page (narrator? Kirk Cameron). In my experience, nothing helps cement something in your memory like music. I also like the layout of each page. At least in my digital review copy, there aren't many illustrations to distract the reader/listener.

What I don't like: the short paragraph versions of the Bible stories are a little "chatty" and "cute" but I think kids will like them. I'm willing to overlook some of that in favor of the encouragement to the kid readers to get in the Word! The Scripture translation used is NIV; we tend to use ESV in our house, but again, I'd be willing to "give" on this one in favor of kids actually learning the Scripture. In addition, the entire verse isn't given (i.e. "A gentle answer turns away wrath" without also including "but a harsh word stirs up anger.") You can still encourage your children to memorize the entire verse and in whatever version you choose; the songs, however, will not correspond.

I should point out that I haven't read every page yet. I won't answer to the theological accuracy of each verse/story. What I have seen, though, makes me tempted to look into this for a gift for one of my kids.

Recommended age group: older preschool-mid elementary

Even in the advance review copy I have, the website given is up and running. So, check out the Hide and Seek Bible site to listen to the songs for yourself (you'll also get to hear the devotional parts, too). Cover image above from same website. ARC from .

Egermeier's Bible Story Book

Ergermeier's Bible Story Book has been around for generations! First published in 1922, it has continued to be updated and published ever since. We have an older edition from the 1970s, but our kids still enjoy it.

This story Bible is a nice followup to Kenneth Taylor's Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes. If you enjoyed Taylor's story Bible with your toddlers and preschoolers, reach for this when your children hit elementary school. The stories are between 2 paragraphs and 2 pages in length: a fact which I very much appreciate. Rather than editing stories to fit in a certain framework, Ergemeier breaks the stories up logically, letting longer events take up more space. And she covers the entire Bible, not skipping over gruesome stories or even the book of Revelation. This story Bible will take you a long time to get through, but it is worth it. There are discussion questions after each story which are wonderful. Sometimes, we have to rephrase them, and our 4 and a half year olds don't always follow them. Our 6 year old, on the other hand, is picking up every word and can nearly always answer each question.

Stories are covered chronologically with Scripture references given. To give you an example, the New Testament starts with the announcement of the birth of John. Between the announcement of John's birth and his actual birth/naming, the story of the angel's visits to Mary and Joseph and Mary's visit to Elizabeth are recounted. (For some reason, this story Bible leaves out Anna and Simeon in the temple with the baby Jesus--it includes so many other smaller stories that I'm puzzled about this oversight.)

I highly recommend this Bible story book; I must point out, though, that it does contain pictures of Jesus. Occasionally, there are liberties taken with the stories--additions made in order to make the stories more understandable to young children (comments about someone being happy or similar ideas). We haven't found any that are overly troubling to us, but it's worth pointing out. We also tend to add to the questions or reword on occasion; still they are wonderful starting points, and we so much appreciate that this story Bible doesn't cutesy up the Bible with trite sayings or pithy quotations. And, because Scripture references are included, it is easy to read the actual Bible along with it.

Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes

I've reviewed Kenneth Taylor's terrific Bible memory books already; now, let's look at his The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes. Again, he has a real gift for communicating on a very young child's level. This story Bible has been around awhile. The volume pictured on the left is the one my husband and I each grew up reading (and the one we now have to read to our children). The one on the right has updated illustrations.

This story Bible has quite a few Bible stories in it; it doesn't skip over the gruesome stories or gloss over events such as the sacrifice of Isaac or the Passover. Instead, Taylor communicates the essence of the story in a way young children can understand. After each short story (about 2 paragraphs), there are some simple comprehension questions for children about the story.

It's worth pointing out that this Bible does have pictures of Jesus (obviously--the front of the newest version shows Christ). If that is not troublesome for you, then I highly recommend checking this one out!

The Big Picture Story Bible

The Big Picture Story Bible
David Helm, author
Gail Schoonmaker, illustrator
2010

I know this book has been out longer than its publication date is showing; we got ours for our boys' 1st birthday back in 2008. At any rate, this is a terrific Bible story book to use for toddlers and preschoolers when you want to do just what the title says: give them the big picture. It's not a substitute for a traditional Bible story book; it doesn't have many stories in it that you might normally expect to see in a children's story Bible. For example, in one picture, you see Joseph in a many colored coat, but that particular story is not in the text.

What the book does do is group periods of Biblical history together and weave them all in one long narrative: the big picture. From Creation onwards, we are waiting to find God's forever king that He promised in the garden. Once Jesus is born, we rejoice in the forever King!

Illustrations are terrific, by the way.

Check this book out if you are looking for a resource to help teach your young children about the big picture of the Biblical narrative.