ESV Childrens' Bible

ESV Children's Bible
(Crossway, 2005), hb. 1632 pp.

I have been meaning for some time to write something about the ESV Children’s Bible. I have had it listed in the recommended resources on there left. The picture above is of our boys on Christmas Day when their main gift was a copy of this Bible for each one. We have had one copy to share among them previously.

This is our pick of Bibles for children. It has the regular ESV text, which we use at church so they can follow along. It also contains nicely done pictures by Allen Parry, pictures that illustrate well without being cheesy or intrusive. Before the biblical text there is some good introductory material. “The Bible, God’s Message to Us” provides a good introduction to what the Bible is (focusing on what it teaches us about God) and how to read and respond to it (pray, meditate, apply). Then there is a list of verses on what the Bible says about itself, some information about how this Bible is arranged.

After the biblical text there is an additional 80 pages of material including an overview of key doctrines, a gospel overview, help for memorizing verses, a Bible reading plan, a section entitled “Learning to Pray” and a good dictionary.

These are very useful tools that can be used at different levels. A child may not use all the tools when he or she first gets the Bible. As the child grows, then, more of the tools may become of interest and use. This is a great resource.