My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts

by Susan Hunt, Yvette Banek (Illustrator)

Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. ~Psalm 119:11

Knowing the Bible can help you know God better. Here is a colorful, story-filled way for even the youngest child to take God's Word to heart—and learn the alphabet too!

Presented in an easy-to-use story format that applies individual Bible verses to real-life situations, this illustrated book for 3- to 7-year-olds is perfect for reading to your children or grandchildren, and great for use in churches, Christian schools, Bible clubs, or home schools. It can also be easily adapted for family devotions with young children.

The ABCs are building blocks to your child's formal education. And these verses are the building blocks of the soul—the building blocks that can lead to eternal life.

Genres: Childrens, Christian, Parenting, Picture Books, Religion, Fiction

62 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1998

About the author

Susan Hunt is a mother and grandmother, a pastor’s wife, and the former Director of Women’s Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America. Holding a degree in Christian education from Columbia Theological Seminary, she has written a number of books, including several by Crossway.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really love the idea behind this book. It goes through the alphabet with bible verses to memorize and then has a story to go with it. We need an updated version! All the verses are New King James so we would use the NIV or ESV but then sometimes the verses wouldn't start with the right letter anymore.
However... this was a fun way to memorize scripture and the other day I hear my 8 year old tell my 7 year old "Honour your father and your mother" and when he still doesn't listen, she tells him to "Quench not the Spirit" (If you know something is wrong but you keep doing it anyways) Pretty cool seeing them apply it in their day to day lives 😍

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My ABC Bible Verses" is great for helping parents start their kids off memorizing scripture and understanding what the verses mean. It is easy for the kids to learn these verses, and also easy for parents to adapt each page to their children's ages and level of comprehension. My daughter memorized all the verses shortly before she turned 2 1/2. Yes, really! All we did was read a few before bedtime, basically according to the book's suggestions for each page (although often my daughter would insist on us reading/saying a few more verses than that), and it took very little time for her to memorize them all, less than 2 months. She points at the pictures of the letters on the page (she knows the alphabet and its symbols, but she can't read) and says, "Big A. Little A. A soft answer turns away wrath", etc. As she gets older we will read her more of the stories that go along with the verses as a bedtime devotional.

I'd recommend this book to any Christian parent of kids under 10.

[Gabe Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for kids (and parents, consequently) to memorize the Word of God

[Brooklyn Darkchild · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to use alongside Raising Rock Stars, a Christian online alphabet curriculum. Each story is a short illustration of the memory verse that goes along with that letter of the alphabet, such as A soft answer turns away wrath or Blessed be the peacemakers. The fact that the stories are less that two pages long is a plus when dealing with antsy preschool children. I also liked that each verse was picked with children in mind--easy to understand, easy to memorize, and most importantly: character traits and worship instructions we want our children to develop early in life. The illustrations are bright and colorful, though somewhat small for group viewing. On the downside, almost all of them portray Caucasian children. ALL children, no matter what their ethnic background, need, and deserve, to see a wide variety of authentic ethnic and racial images. This isn't a small problem, yet it didn't turn me off of the book or make me not want to recommend it because the book is really quite good otherwise and fortunately, it's also easy to correct with a few colored pencils in various shades of brown.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is our 3rd or 4th time reading through this book. The kids love it! Each letter has two pages with a verse, a paragraph or two of exposition on the verse, and then a short story about the same family throughout the book. As this was written in the 90s by Crossway, it would be great to have an updated version in ESV! (As is, the verses are NKJV.)

[N C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super impressed with this devotional. Theologically sound and loved by both myself and my 4 year old. I personally found it really made a difference in her behaviour. She has so many scriptures hidden in her heart thanks to this devotional.

[Emily Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great addition to our morning basket. The kids learned a lot of Bible verses, and the ABC structure of it helped with the memorization. The stories are a bit cheesy, as one would expect. I would have given more stars, but I didn't love that the verses are in King James Version.

[Loraena · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7-year-old engages with this well. The stories are a bit cheesy and simplistic, but the applications are grace based and we like reading this together.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, Love, LOVE this book. We have been reading one story (or letter) each day for one week, and then moving onto the next letter. By the end of the week, Catherine (and sometimes even Santi) knows the verse cold and can apply it in its proper context, especially if reinforced throughout the day and put to a tune. I love/need having direction like this, in such an age-appropriate form! Yay! I also love how all the ones we've read so far apply so much on a daily basis, particularly in the context of the sibling relationship. Gentle answers turning away wrath! Being peacemakers instead of troublemakers! Love.

My only complaint is that the translation is kind of weird -- I'm not exactly sure which one it is. At first, I tweaked everything into NIV (especially because Catherine already knew some of the verses in NIV), but it got too difficult trying to remember what the differences were when reading the story. (And please don't inform the PCA church about my fondness for NIV. I'm already on thin ice.)

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 26 Bible verses in this book that even young children can memorize – one for each letter of the alphabet. The verses are related to a story about a brother and sister (Missy and Bill) who apply the verse to a situation they are facing. Missy and Bill are pretty much perfect models of behavior (so not like real kids much): they talk through problems with their parents, recall Bible verses for wisdom, are tempted by their friends but refrain from most misbehavior. Nevertheless, the author does a good job of keeping their choices, struggles, and behavior grace-based and not legalistic. Missy and Bill are taught their need for grace, not their need for rules or their ability to follow rules. Some of the stories have a quick happy ending, and I would rather have more stories where the payoff of following Jesus doesn’t immediately get rewarded. Also, the Bible verses are taken from the King James Bible, so some of the verses contain tricky words like “begotten.”

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve used this book with each of our three year olds to start introducing scripture and its application. Wonderful for teaching a verse for every letter of the alphabet. There are only two stories that I raise an eyebrow at in feeling like their application of the scripture is stretched or a little off; “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” for example...but let’s be real, most people interpret that verse totally incorrect. I DO wish that the Bible version they use was something other than KJV though - only reason for 4 stars.

Easy to incorporate into preschool or kindergarten curriculum while learning the alphabet.

[Beth | Faithfully Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one of our favorite resources to share practical and applicable scripture with our children. Each verse has a short explanation, a story with children who learn to apply the verse, and discussion questions to help hide His Word in our hearts.

Throughout the book, Missy and her brother Bill learn about God's Word and how it teaches us about Him and how He wants us to live. The stories gave our children a deeper understanding of the verses by putting them into a context they can relate to and remember.

We purchased this book over seven years ago and still use it today. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first my kids loved this book and wanted to read more and more, but their enthusiasm waned after we finished it. They did memorize verses from it and it was a great help for me to put up memory verses for them that were age appropriate. The stories can seem cheesy, but are simple and applicable to young children. I thought there was a possibility that it could be overly-religious, but it stayed true to scripture and having a relationship with Jesus rather than just being good.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good balance of instruction and reliance on God's grace. Good review questions and emphasis on relating passages to each other. Each entry has a suggested topic for prayer. We didn't focus on memory as much as we focused on reading. Kate could read most of the verses without help when we finished. One story talks about how our souls will live with God forever, so that was a little disappointing.

Read again in Feb/March 2017.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this book for preschool. We loved the verses. I also love how the book encourages kids to depend on the Holy Spirit and not try to do things on their own strength. My kids love reading about what will happen to Missy and Bill. The application was good, but we somestimes acted out puppet shows to give a more personal application.

[Kendra Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the verses we all know now. What a great thing for little ones to start out with a simple memory tool-

A- A soft answer turns away wrath.
B- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
C- Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

etc.

[Graceianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so interested with this book. When I saw this book, I rembered my babies at sunday school. So, before I share the stories to them I read it first. Amazingly, this book can touch my heart too. I hope my babies will feel the same or even more than me. Thank to Susan Hunt who wrote this book. God bless you richly :)

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. We have read it twice. I am now using it as copy work and memory work on those weeks that we do not have a memory verse at CBS. Will also continue to use it through the summer when we take a break from CBS. The kids love this book because it gives a short story/example of the memory verse in action.

[Lisa]

If you have small children you must have this book!

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have just recently started using this as a devotional book with my two year old daughter. The stories are short enough for her attention span.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My boys LOVE reading this book. We read it twice a day (before nap and before bedtime). They are learning His word and how to apply it in their daily lives.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, my review is based on the fact that this book for 3 year olds and up? has 95% words and 5% illustrations. Makes me not even want to read the content.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:
If it weren't ABC and just focused on good verses for kids to learn it would've been better.
Short story with each verse to see kids acting on God's word.
Used this for age 4-5

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids really like the stories, and they in turn help remind them and me about the meaning of the Scripture verses to hide in our hearts. Very practical book for family life!