Monday, June 17, 2013

Book Review: Children's Favorite Bible Stories

Children's Favorite Bible Stories. Compiled by Tama Fortner. Illustrated by Natalie Carabetta. 2012. Thomas Nelson. 432 pages.

Children's Favorite Bible Stories is a good resource for families, churches, and libraries. It features 192 stories. The stories are not retellings or adaptations. Each story uses the text from the International Children's Bible, an easy-to-read Bible translation. The length of each story is one to two pages. Each story has a "let's pray" and "going deeper" feature. The going deeper consists of "read it" and "do it." The "let's pray" feature has a prayer, a bible verse, or a poem. Sometimes a combination of all three. In addition, some stories have even more extra features--such as "special words," "did you know?" or "quote of the day." The length of each story is quite manageable and would make it a good choice for read aloud during family devotions.

There are 77 stories from the Old Testament: 32 from the Pentateuch; 28 from the History books; 7 from the wisdom books; and 10 from the Prophets, major and minor. There are 115 stories from the New Testament. (60 of these are from the gospels.)

Jesus, Friend of little children,
Be a friend to me;
Take my hand and ever keep me
Close to Thee
Teach me how to grow in goodness,
Daily as I grow;
Thou hast been a child, and surely
Thou dost know.
Never leave, nor forsake me;
Ever be my Friend;
For I need Thee, from life's dawning
To it's end.  ~ Walter J. Mathams (p. 164)

God be in my head
And in my understanding;
God be in my eyes
And in my looking;
God be in my mouth
And in my speaking;
God be in my heart
And in my thinking. ~ Sarum Primer (p. 294)

Two little eyes to look to God;
Two little ears to hear his Word;
Two little feet to walk in his ways;
Two little lips to sing his praise;
Two little hands to do his will
And one little heart to love him still. ~ Traditional (p. 356)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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