His First Bible

by Melody Carlson

Hold Your little one close. Begin to hide God's word in his heart. Enjoy the treasured times as you share these Bible stories with him again and again.

Genres: Childrens

96 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 1997

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Linda Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is age-appropriate for BABIES and is so, so cute (in my opinion). The pages each tell of one Bible story in a most unique way. The stories each hold one simple 4-line rhyming poem that is just perfect for a baby's mind to appreciate. The baby will love the little verses and really, if you put much more on each page, it would be too much for a baby's brain to comprehend. So the little rhyming verses are great! They tell the story without overdoing it for babies!

Okay, I think I'm beginning to over-enthuse about this but the truth is I really like the poetry, and the illustrations are soft and colorful and perfectly attractive. They go with this book well. The artist is Tish Tenud. Well done, Tish... and also, well done, Melody (the poet).

Topics covered include a page each for the creation Noah, Sampson, Samuel, Elijah, and many others in the Old Testament. All the pages in the New Testament focus on Jesus from his birth throughout his ministry. The crucifixion is skipped so we go from him carrying the cross to Calvary, straight to the Resurrection. I think that is perfect for babies. The book explains how Jesus loves us and does mention He gave His life for us.

The way the book is written, the pages really tell so little that they encourage parents to tell a little more in their own words. If children ask questions, it is a great opportunity for parent-child interaction and teaching, in a most gentle way.

If you want to buy a book for a baby, or a child up to about age three, this is a good choice.

[KiKi Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this for my oldest son when he was 2 based on the positive reviews. It’s a great introduction to Bible stories, but it’s certainly not the Bible, or even excerpts from the Bible, as the title suggests. I wanted something more from the actual Word. Overall it was a nice, very simple children’s book, but we switched to reading the actual Bible shortly after this was finished. I didn’t bother reading this to my second child either. I certainly wouldn’t purchase this again, but it might be a nice gift for a newborn.

[Crystan M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While calling this a Bible is a little generous, my toddler son would sit for a few pages at a time. Each set of two pages is a a full page illustration and a four line rhyming verse. The first half of the book covered parts of the Old Testament and the second half covered Jesus. The verses were nice but very basic info which seemed appropriate for the young age the book is geared toward.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very basic Bible book. 1 sentence for each Bible story. Big Biblical themes are totally left out...like sin and grace. Really disappointing Bible for kids.

[Rekae Manchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love to read this to my little ones!

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our infant son is still too young to understand words, let alone read, but we wanted to expose him to reading from a very early age. We also wanted to expose him to Christian message, and especially the stories from the Bible. After looking around at several different options I came across this little book. It seemed like an ideal first exposure to the Bible, and a great way to read to a really small child. I can sit him on my lap and hold the book right in front of him. I can read and show him the illustrations while holding him, something that has proven difficult with much larger books.

The book is really tastefully and beautifully illustrated. The illustrations are really well done and will certainly appeal to kids of all ages. Roughly half of the book is dedicated to the Old Testament and the Other Half to the New Testament. The Old Testament includes a snapshots of some of the best known stories - Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Moses parting the Red Sea, Daniel in the Lions' den, etc. The New Testament part is exclusively the Gospel accounts of some of the highlights from the life of Jesus. Each little "story" combines an illustration and four verses on the opposing page. I was worried that the verses might be corny, but they turned out to be quite well written. They are amusing and get the gist of the message that each episode is trying to convey. The verses can be used as a springboard for deeper discussion of the given Biblical stories.

We just love this little book. I expect to read it very often in the upcoming months and years. Would definitely recommend it to parents of small children who want to expose their children to the Biblical stories from an early age.