Read With Me Bible

Read With Me

by Dennis G. Jones (Illustrator), Doris Rikkers (Editor)

This beloved Bible for young readers is updated with more artwork, a new typeface, and a fresh, eye-catching cover. Like the original, this new version separates Old Testament and New Testament sections and contains 106 Bible stories based on the New International Reader's Version.

Genres: Christian, Childrens, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Folklore, Religion

444 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Christian Illustrator

Born in Mountain Grove, a small rural town in the Missouri Ozarks, Dennis is the fourth of six children. He logged a ton of pew time at the local Baptist Church where he honed his artistic abilities by drawing on church bulletins during Sunday morning sermons.

After graduating from high school, he attended Southwest Missouri State University and studied art. During the college years, he spent his summers working in amusement parks (Opryland & Silver Dollar City) drawing caricatures. Dennis graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and stumbled blindly into a career as a freelance illustrator.

After spending the 90s in Texas, Dennis and family moved to Northeastern Indiana where his wife Karen is a professor at Huntington University. His two grown sons now live and work in the Oklahoma City area.

For fun Dennis plays in a recreational ice hockey league where he pretends to be Wayne Gretzky, but plays more like Wayne Gretkowski, the ninety year old store greeter at the local Wal-Mart. He also occasionally plays bass and guitar in the band at his church where he continues to insist that a pyrotechnics show and hydraulic stage for the band would really add a lot to the Sunday morning worship services.

Reviews

[Kayla Ritcheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Bible story book my parents read to me as a little girl, and we just finished going through it with our 3 year old. I love that each story just has a paraphrase of the Bible's words - no commentary. We've started over and plan to go through it again.

[Woody Calhoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit, when I picked up this book to read, I didn't really think it would be anything special. I was so happy to be proven wrong. The Read With Me Bible is a fantastic adaptation of the scriptures with the purpose of introducing young readers to the actual Bible. The text is simplified for the younger audience but manages to keep all the meaning of the original. There is very little lost between the transition. I have heard some people claim the simplification is disrespectful, but I disagree. We already simplify some biblical and gospel lessons for young children when we teach them in church, so why is this any different?

Now, moving on to the art, I must say, that the drawings are what really did it for me. I love the pictures this book uses and I especially love the style. The bright, colorful, well-lined art is very friendly and inviting looking which is just what you want for a book like this. You want children to feel happy and warm when reading the stories of Christ and his Apostles and this art style captures that very well. Yes, it is a "cartoon" art style and some people may have a problem with it, but I personally think it is perfect. The art never misrepresents a character from the stories and its is never purposefully offensive as a lot of cartoon styles can be today. I feel it is very respectful of the source material and goes out of its way to give kids a good representation of the stories they are reading.

I would recommend this to any family who wants a version of the Bible that their children will excitedly read. I'd even recommend this to adults just so they can get an idea of the wonderful art in this book.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps the best kids illustrated Bible I have found. I work in a ministry organization for youth and persons with disabilities and this book tells the Bible stories simply and with great illustrations. Sometimes I like just paging through looking at the people's expressions or to find all the animals!

[John Brackbill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good "Bible Time" book that covers many Bible stories. I really enjoy the Jesus Storybook Bible and the Big Picture Story Book Bible, but one of their weaknesses is not covering many of the biblical stories. A book like this works well in tandem with such books.

[Eli Goh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I strongly recommend parents to get a copy of this illustrated version of the Bible for their kids if the conventional one is a heavy read for kids.

This book was an enjoyable read - it highlights all the major events in the Bible!

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best illustrated children's bible I've ever seen. LOVE those detailed, emotive, and child friendly pictures.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been my favourite kids Bible so far. It actually users the text of the Bible, rather than trying to retell the story itself. It uses the NIRV, which is pretty good. It still leaves out chunks of the stories.

The pictures are also good, and very engaging for kids.

Unfortunately, as with most kids Bibles, the stories are chosen to some strange agenda which is hard to discern. There are some odd choices. For example, several key moments in Jesus' life are left out, like the transfiguration, but the story of Solomon commanding that a baby be cut in half is included - which made for fun bedtime explanations!

All in all, not bad for a kids Bible but nothing beats the real thing aye?

[Mh Weyler]

This one was given to us by my brother and sister-in-law. We love it! It has many famous as well as more obscure stories. It does not just paraphrase the stories but presents them mostly word for word, only on a very easy level. It also has loads of pictures! (a must for a very active boy) By far my favorite of the several we have!

[Set · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus looks a bit zesty in these illustrations. I do appreciate that they quoted the last supper appropriately. But I'm rather perplexed that the story of Jesus commenced, "She gave birth to her first baby." There is a difference between "firstborn son" and "her first baby." Two different implications.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great version of original scripture abridged for young listeners and readers. We listened to this on audible. My girls really paid close attention. The exaggerated, cartoon style of the illustrations is not my taste, but my children like it

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the better children's bibles that I have found. It is more of excerpts as most of the text matches the actual bible passage just not the full passage. The illustrations are bright and interesting for the kids. We wore ours out. :)

[sch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent storybook Bible.

[Wendy Nickel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining.

[Riley Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had this as a small child. It's how I learned all the stories of the Bible.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very comprehensive. Just basic Bible stories retold in very simple terms, some not consistent with scripture. No application. It’s really just a story book.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

So you want the compact kid-friendly size, but not the glittery pink of The Sweetest Story Bible: Sweet Thoughts and Sweet Words for Little Girls, of The Story for Children: A Storybook Bible, or even The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. Well how about the boy-tastic illustrations by Dennis Jones in the Holy Bible: NIrV - New International Readers Version: Read With Me Bible?!

Old Testament + New Testament, 105 stories full of action and adventure might be exactly what you need to keep the pages turning.

I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with Me Bible Deluxe edition is a very familiar Bible to our family. This Bible has been a favorite of ours for years. My now teens used this Bible when they were young and the illustrations have always been some of my very favorites! Now put to CD, the Read with Me Bible can be 'read' by my young ones whenever they want! I do still enjoy reading it to them myself, but there are times it is sure handy to have the CD do it for me! Still getting the Word impressed on them, but in a fun way like a 'grown up'.. reading it for themselves!


NIrV version, a tad easier for kids learning to read on their own. This Bible comes in a case with the hardbound Bible, and 2 audio CD's. Dennis Jones is a fantastic illustrator; adding so many fun details to his work that make it really stand out!

The CD's have 105 corresponding tracks to the Read with Me Bible stories. The stories vary from approx 40 seconds to over 3 minutes.

The facial expressions in the illustrations are just priceless! They make me smile each time I see them! What a fun way to share the gospel message with your 4-7 year olds! Geared at their level, to teach the Word in a way they will retain.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoyed this children's Bible and have added it to our regular rotation. The writing is good, but the art is the draw. While our little listeners love the engaging, action oriented (great for boys!) pictures, part of me feels a bit strange with the superheroesque portrayal of Jesus (complete with cape!). I wouldn't recommend it as a stand alone, if you are only going to buy one Bible, don't buy this one. But, as a complement to other renditions, I think this has something to add, particularly for boys who will be captivated by the illustrated action.

[Devane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this is a great resource for young children wanting to read a long in the bible I was a bit disabled. The pictures were great but the stories were missing important elements from the originals. Most of the stories were missing parts that taught the message that was supposed to be learned from the stories. My children love it and its definitely better then giving them a pictures book but I wish that the stories were more complete.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a very interesting telling of the bible stories. Some have been offended by the portal but I thought it was funny and cute and would get children interested and in a way it made the Bible stories seem more real because they saw the funny or crazy of the story. I like this book and thought it was fun.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book served as an excellent transitional Bible for our youngsters. There is a time for reading simple words that increase their understanding of phonograms and challenge their reading skills. This was the first Bible they read independently, and it is a treasure for those memories.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly, this is one of the better children's story Bibles I've seen. The artwork is better than most, and the stories are about the right length and for the most part true to the Bible. There are some oddly missing stories, and portions of stories are not mentioned.

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both my kids love the illustrations, which I find a bit cartoonish, but if they are happy I am happy. I got the bilingual version (Indonesian & English) and plan to use this for my daughter's kindergarten homeschool curriculum.

[Lauren Blount · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so great for teaching your children bible stories in a simple way so that they can understand. I really enjoyed the illustrations. Overall it is a really well done book, and one I would love to own for my children.

[Kayleena Nielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this. I hope to read this with my children and I love how it makes the bible stories easy to understand through pictures and reading. It is so cute and a great way to help kids enjoy the bible stories.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have also read this children's Bible to my kids. I selected this one for them because I thought the pictures were more interesting and had more varied expressions, and because the text is closer word for word to the NIV translation, simplified, rather than just someone's paraphrase of the story.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially like this children's edition of the Bible. I've read several others by other publishers, and I think this one has the best artwork and the best Bible stories - in length and telling. We've read through it so many times it's falling apart!

[Kristian · Rating 5 out of 5]

coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

[Christo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading this to my boys, they loved it! a very good first Bible for the little ones.

[David Dickson]

Good illustrations and decent writing. Has kept my 4 year old daughter interested!