The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook: Old Testament

by Tyler Van Halteren

The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook is perfect for children ages 4-12 with hundreds of vivid illustrations and engaging text. Take your family on a journey to discover the story of God's kingdom from Genesis-Revelation in this beautiful set of books! This book covers the Old Testament in a 404 page volume with a cloth hardcover and ribbon page marker. A New Testament volume and Box Set are also available to purchase.

Genres: Christian, Childrens

404 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2022

About the author

Tyler holds a M.div from the Master's Seminary and has spent most of his life seeking to inspire children and youth to follow Christ and know God's Word.

After seeing 20 minute bedtime stories change his son's life, Tyler decided to take up the challenge of changing the world through biblically faithful and beautifully illustrated books.

Reviews

[Eddie Mercado · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read; chapters are easy to go through, and the art is quite beautiful! This is a good overview of the Old Testament, and the author provides a good balance with presenting the drama of the Old Testament, while always having in sight the fulfillment of the OT’s promises in Christ. The alliterative description of the Kingdom of God is spot on (Presence, People, Place, Promise)!

When you pitch a book as practicing Biblical Theology, however, my standards will be high. And there is a serious flaw in this book’s presentation of Covenant Theology: no Covenant of Works. This covenant is not only exegetically defensible, it is theologically demanded. This covenant provides the shadow of Christ’s obedience as revealed in the New Testament. For it to have been neglected is a shame. All that being said, this book was well done, and edifying to read with the family. Recommend!

[Christine]

This is our favorite childrens storybook Bible. We have a 3, 5, and 6 year old and they all love it. Each of them will sit and just look at the pictures for a long time. We read this book everyday and can’t commend it enough. It is true to scripture and is always reminding of how Jesus is the answer to all our needs.
The pictures are beautiful

[Toniann Churches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork, weaves the gospel & God's character into all the stories Beautifully. Great questions after each chapter, gospel glimpses and prayers. I also appreciated the timeliness at the beginning of every chapter. This bible storybook kept my kids attention the whole way through.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently my favorite option for 4+. My son loves it and always wants to reread it. Also, beautifully illustrated.

[Sarah Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and illustrated, NT interpreting OT with a clear Gospel focus. Much of the writing is composed of direct passages from Scripture.

My favorite “kids’ Bible” for sure!

[Lindsey Finton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I think this is the best children’s Bible book we’ve read. It’s a nice step up from the Big Picture Story Bible by Helm. My 4-8 year old boys all really enjoyed it and kept begging for me to read them the next chapter. The biblical theology is excellent and I was glad that it even includes overviews of the prophets’ messages and how they anticipate Christ. At the end of each chapter is a concise review that explains how God’s Presence, Place, People, and Promise are seen in the story, along with a few review questions and a short “Gospel Glimpse” about how the chapter anticipates Christ. Overall, the pictures are very good as well. I highly recommend this OT book and am looking forward to reading the NT.

[Hannah Layman]

We've enjoyed reading this together as a family and our 4yo stayed engaged with every chapter. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging. Each chapter has a follow-up summary, some questions, and a short prayer.

[Jon Merkling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Maybe the best Bible storybook ever.

[Carissa Benton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. So impressed with this book. By far the best children's Bible Storybook we have read (and we have read many). Highly recommend adding this to your bookshelf!

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m only giving this three stars because it needed a better editor. The text placement and color relative to the illustrations often makes it difficult to read. There are numerous easily noted typos and some awkward or clunky turns of phrase. For the most part, the stories and illustrations were fine, but I found the obvious lack of close editing distracting and disappointing.

[John Dekker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook is part of a new brand of children's Bible story books that are heavily influenced by biblical theology and focus on the big picture of the Bible's (or in this case, the Old Testament's) message. The two volumes in this series occupy a similar space to The Jesus Storybook Bible and The Big Picture Story Bible, but are superior to both. The illustrations are better, there is a lot more direct use of Scripture, and many episodes are included that I have never seen elsewhere, such as the establishment of the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 and Daniel's vision in Daniel 7.

Of course, I had some quibbles with various points of interpretation, and there was a pretty blatant error in one of the illustrations: the high priest had 16 stones on his breastplate instead of 12. But such a thing does not detract from the quality of this work.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my new favorite children’s storybook Bibles! It’s part 1 of a 2-part set with the NT. So very well done: Rich biblical theology and accurate retelling of biblical stories combined with beautiful illustrations. As the author of the book (a graduate of The Master’s Seminary) describes it, this is a storybook Bible for children to grow into, rather than out of. Through 30 chapters, it masterfully tells the unified story of the OT, with a sustained focus on the Kingdom of God, covenant, offspring, and Savior.

The authors summarizes God’s Kingdom with four elements:
“God’s presence
With God’s people
In God’s place
Through God’s promises.”

At the end of each chapter is a page that recaps the advancement of each of these four elements in that particular portion of the OT story. These pages also contain review questions, a gospel glimpse, and a suggested prayer.

Each chapter begins with a page that has a Bible timeline for what’s to come and Bible references.

Highly recommended!

[H. L. Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grounded deeply in the consistent, overall storyline of God’s great plan of redemption, Tyler Van Halteren’s ‘The Kingdom Of God Story Book: Old Testament’ beautifully proclaims God’s faithfulness page by page. What a thought-provoking, Christ-centered, eye-opening look at the Old Testament! My older children (8, 7, and 4 years old) soaked it all up as we read each morning and enjoyed the summary questions and information at the end of each chapter. I LOVE the reinforcement of truth provided for them in that way. I LOVE the clarity of what God is doing through each story. The people are not the focal point - God is. EXCELLENT. Examples here below:

-“God’s kingdom was complete. He had given his people every good and perfect gift. Best of all, he had given himself.” Page 22

-“God had offered life, but people kept choosing death.”Page 54

-“God’s promise wouldn’t depend on Abraham. God himself was going to fulfill His promise.”
Page 84

-“But God always keeps his promises, even when they seem impossible.” Page 88

-“God would always provide more than His people needed or deserved.” Page 96

-“But God didn’t choose Israel because they were good. God chose them because He is good, and because of the promises he had made to Abraham.”

-“The vision was a beautiful picture of what God does for his people. They were unclean and unworthy, but God would take away their sin and bring them close to Him.”
Page 374

-“God made many promises to his people throughout the Old Testament, and he will be faithful to fulfill each and every one. How will God's promises be fulfilled? Through the promised offspring of Eve, the promised child of Abraham, the prophet who is greater than Moses, the true High Priest, and the true King from the line of David.”
Page 404

I am so thankful for this resource! It has truly impacted our little family in a great way.

[Katie - Mud Pies with Sprinkles · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Long before the beginning, God was there. God always was, always is, and always will be the true King over all things."

This beautiful storybook Bible divides the Old Testament into 30 chapters for a seamless, chronological retelling of Scripture.

Each story is closely crafted by Scripture. I recognize limited creative license. The text is age appropriate and the illustrations are vivid and captivating.

This is the first storybook bible that I can wholeheartedly recommend. After reading it through for this review, I couldn't wait to start reading it with my kids.


The Bible is God's Word and must take precedence. I believe strongly and reading straight from Scripture and oral retellings. But this is a beautiful companion to add to our Family Bible & Breakfast. The Bible timeline may be one of my favorite parts.

For reference, my older girls are 3 and 5. This is perfect for them! The first storybook bible that did not oversimplify God's word!

5 out of 5 stars! I RECOMMEND!

This review is only for the OT. I have not reviewed the NT at this time.
____________
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Tim Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Bible storybooks simplify stories so much that they just end up moralistic, or they leave out important stories for the sake of brevity. This one does neither. It traces the theme of the kingdom of God from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end, incorporating stories long forgotten by most Bible storybooks. The illustrations and writing are both top notch, staying faithful to the text of Scripture. My three-year-old loved it, but I probably wouldn't introduce it to a younger child, as it deals with themes such as death and destruction and some of the illustrations (such as the beasts of Daniel's vision) can be frightening for young readers. But for ages 3 or 4 plus, this is simply the best Bible storybook I've come across.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The physical book itself displays quality craftsmanship and every page is beautifully illustrated. The story itself, while true and wonderful, is presented in chapters that are too long for reading in one sitting with young children. For older kids (7+) this may not be the case, but it was unfortunately a challenge for our young family with four kids under 7. We also bought the corresponding New Testament volume, but will likely switch to a Bible storybook more geared to younger kids and visit that one in a few years.

[curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really delightful adaptation of the Old Testament, beautifully illustrated and broken down into easily digestible chapters. My almost-four-year-old enjoyed it immensely and is excited to begin the New Testament volume. A lot of potential for re-readability as well, with study questions and chapter summaries that will serve older kids well. (I might do another review when we cycle back to this one once ours is old enough to really get into that material.)

[Simon Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an excellent children's old testament for lots of reasons. The best of these is that the stories are all connected under a single theme of the Kingdom of God. This helps kids make sense of the stories and understand the narrative as a whole rather than as a discrete collection of lessons. So good. I will keep re-reading this with my five and three year old.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This storybook Bible has truly beautiful illustrations and focuses every story on the coming savior. It also includes some biblical figures often left out of children’s retellings. However, it’s not my favorite because it’s quite repetitive. My kids are little, but even with older children I think I would still find myself editing as I read.

[Emily Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lithos Kids has the best children's Bible studies - I am convinced of it. The illustrations are gorgeous. The stories have enough depth to spark conversation. I love the thought-provoking questions and the tie-in to Jesus at the end of each chapter.

[Andrew Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite children's Bible storybook thus far. Rich in the text and biblical theology.

[Cedric · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read to Artie)

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really good storytelling of the Old Testament for kids (and adults!). The theme is the covenant relationship between God and his people Israel, with the individual stories of David, Isaiah, Esther, Nehemiah and many more told within context. Loved the illustrations and how Biblically faithful the writing was.

[Cecile · Rating 4 out of 5]

p. 335-

[Shelly Patularu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Bible storybook. Our 7 year old twins and almost 5 year old absolutely loved this storybook Bible. We are excited to read the New Testament next 🙂