A book that was part of my younger years and since it is parts of the Precious Moments collection I am going to hazard it was probably from my adopted mom.
Anyway Precious Moments: Stories From the Bible isn't technically a Bible version for children but stories taken from that book while put into more simpler and relatable format paired with interactive questions to make younger readers think about the material they are reading.
The book dedicates the first two chapters to Creation and the Fall while the third takes a look at the Gospel. The rest of the book looks at stories based upon a subject whether it is doing good deeds, disobeying, sinning or how to include Jesus more into our life. Readers will find these chapters include multiple sub-chapter stories, each with a verse or verses for further study.
But given to these themed chapters, readers will find stories aren't in chronological order and so you will be bounced around. A result of this is that for those who don't go to Sunday school often or have access to similar stories the various characters may be overwhelming without the context of prior stories to give some context.
The book doesn't just choose all easy-to-hide or explain stories. Instead there a few that may be considered more for more mature audiences although scrubbed not to be too bad.
Otherwise there is some definite creative licensing going on with the stories to add more emotional delth, decision-making and daily actions not mentioned in the original to help provide the stories as actual stories. As a result the more extreme Christian may not be a fan of this interpretation.
The book does use the predominant Precious Moments artwork to illustrate the book thus having Americana kids portraying adults in either colored or coloring illustrations. Otherwise where adults have been added, they are rather more cartoonish than the children. Furthermore no historical attention are given to the majority of character portrayals as well.
All in all if you are a collector or just looking for some easy-to-read and understand biblical tales for kids this may be a resource just as long as you are willing to overlook some of its weaknesses.
Grouped by theme, the Bible stories in this book use simple vocabulary and large print, making it simple for children to understand the Biblical truth of the story. With its low reading level, parents will find it easy to share with preschool-age children. Many older primary-grade children will find they can read the stories themselves.
The stories include the Creation, the Garden of Eden, the birth of Baby Jesus, Daniel in the lion’s den, the Good Samaritan, God’s promise to Sarah, Moses, David and Goliath, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Jonah, the widow’s mite, the prodigal son, King Solomon, the golden calf, praying, love for others, and many more.
Lavishly illustrated with Sam Butcher’s unique Precious Moments drawings, the book is a treat for the eyes as well as for the soul and is sure to become a favorite of both children and their parents.
Cute little biblical stories. I wasn’t a fan of how the stories are grouped together. They are grouped by type of story. For example: acts of obedience or acts of hate. Still worth reading.
When I was younger, my Dad (or sometimes Mom) would read stories from this book to me right before I went to sleep, and I loved them so much. We went through the whole book many times, and I even colored some of the pages. It's a great bedtime storybook for kids. :)
My aunt sent this book for me to use with my daughters, ages four and five. I've tried other Bible books with mixed success but this one seems to be a hit with them.
I did a little research on this book and the author designed it to be simplified language for preschool children at a reading level that primary grade students could read. Precious Moments picked up this book and re-illustrated it with Precious Moments pictures. I recognized a bunch of the illustrations from the Precious Moments coloring books I had as a child.
The stories are short and I tend to cut out some of the details to make them shorter. The stories are not in Biblical order which is fine. It starts with the creation of the world and then talks about the fall into sin. Then it goes into the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. The remainder of the book is familiar Bible stories sorted by category and it ends with Jesus coming again.
I grew up on Little Visits with God but because of my daughters' developmental delays, it has been very hard to find materials to use with them. It has worked well at bedtime and they like looking through the book during the day, saying occasional words like "God" and "Jesus."
I wish it had more illustrations in it since my girls are very visually oriented. And there was a few parts, especially in the last section, I had to edit on the fly because the theology didn't quite match up with that of my church. Otherwise, I have enjoyed reading it to them and we will probably read it again and again.
First of all, the pictures are classic Precious Moment people and pets. Some are in color, some in black and white, some take up a lot of room, some take up little space and sometimes, there is aIn the beginning, it was a bit typical, but quickly grew odder. I can't say more for few of giving away what happens. Just when you think you are figuring out what is happening and such, the author throws in another curve ball that you couldn't have really seen coming. The emotions are real and at times, so raw, you find yourself wanting to distance yourself. That is how well the author envelops the reader into the book. Despite the various heart-wrenching moments, I highly recommend this book. Just have a box of tissues or someone to hug near by! You'll need them as you learn some important lessons we all seem to forget. bit between the pictures. However, there is more than enough to appease any Precious Moments fan. Also, the stories are short and to the point, which is a good thing. No big words are used, just simple, plain language. I really think is an excellent Bible and would be good for younger kids, or those like me , who have bad days, can't concentrate and wtill wish to read from the Bible.