God's Stories as told by God's Children

by The Bible for Normal People

A children’s Bible that takes its scholarship as seriously as its storytelling.

Featuring the voices of 55 biblical scholars, theologians, and storytellers from around the world, God’s Stories as told by God’s Children is a beautifully illustrated storybook Bible that integrates biblical scholarship into engaging storytelling.

A library, not a book.
A conversation, not a monologue.
A collection of wisdom, not rules.

With no doctrinal agenda, no theological skulduggery, and no insidiously damaging interpretations your child will spend
decades deconstructing, God’s Stories is designed to help children and their grownups love the Bible for what it a collection of ancient, complex, endlessly fascinating texts spanning millennia and incorporating many voices.

But we couldn’t do it alone. Because to showcase the Bible’s many voices, we needed to include many voices. So we invited some of our friends to help us tell these stories well. To honor the narrative wrinkles and weird bits. To lean into the things that don’t make sense and embrace the questions. To gently introduce children to the stories behind the biblical stories.

Radically inclusive, informed by the best in biblical scholarship, and deeply respectful of children’s imagination and intelligence, God’s Stories as told by God’s Children is the storybook Bible you’ll wish you had when you were a kid.

Featuring the voices of René August, Jared Byas, Mari Joerstad, Jonathan Lewis-Jong, Lauren O'Connell, Carolyn Custis James, Sarah Shectman, Rachel Starr, Safwat Marzouk, Chauncey Diego Francisco Handy, Brent Strawn, Mark Brett, Erin Moon, Cynthia Shafer-Elliott, Ellen Davis & Morley van Yperen, Katharine Dell, Dan McClellan, Deborah Winters, Jione Havea, Anna Sieges Beal, Alexiana Fry, Joshua James, Pete Enns, Steed Davidson, Aaron Higashi, Havilah Dharamraj, Monica Melanchthon, Brian Kolia, Shayna Sheinfeld, Sarah Emanuel, Isaac Soon, Jennifer Garcia Bashaw, Shannon K Evans, Tamice Spencer-Helms, Shane Claiborne, Elizabeth Enns Petters, Kylie Crabb, Summer Kinard, Jennifer Kaalund, Meredith Warren, Camille Szramiak Arneberg, Marika Rose, Savannah Locke, Miguel De La Torre, Raj Nadella, Richard Rohr, Jarrod McKenna, Marlena Graves, Bradley Jersak, Drew Hart , Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, Rachel Mann, Terry Stokes, and Randy Woodley.

With illustrations and artwork by Carolina Marin Londono, Cheryl Orsini, Chloe Jasmine Harris, Gusts Linkevics, Harrison Vial, Maria Arum, Ollie Davis, Veronica Fabregat, and Tessa Stulz.

Kindle Edition

Published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[Jaymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the stories in this kids Bible! These are paraphrases, not translations, and they are told from what I would call a "progressive" theological and biblical studies perspective. Even while that is something I love, it was still a bit jarring as I read the first couple of stories. But as I read more and more, and I got in the flow, I enjoyed them. The illustration style isn't my personal fave, but they are pretty and fit the overall style.

If you want a KJV, verbatim sort of kids Bible, this is not for you. But if you want something that's told in a stories-for-kids style, check this out. There are QR codes with each story to take readers to other materials - I did not want to create an account in order to view them, so I can't speak to the quality or style of those resources.

[GReview · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Chapter-by-Chapter Look at a Children’s Bible Storybook… That Really Wanted to Be a Progressive Manifesto

If you found this review because Amazon wouldn’t let me talk long enough - welcome.
This is the full breakdown: the director’s cut, the extended edition, the unabridged theological safari through a children’s book that slowly but surely wanders off the path of historic Christianity.

Let me start with grace: the authors write beautifully. The tone is soft, the illustrations are charming, and if we were judging this book strictly on readability, pacing, or friendliness, it’d earn high marks.

But friendliness is not the same as faithfulness.

Across the main content chapters (2 through 61), one pattern becomes impossible to ignore:
Biblical narratives are retold through a consistently progressive lens that subtly (and sometimes not subtly) rewrites doctrines, themes, and even Jesus Himself.

This isn’t about nitpicking a children’s book for not sounding like a seminary lecture.
It is about recognizing when a book marketed as a Christian introduction for kids:

- Redefines the Kingdom as a “kin-dom”
- Softens or removes sin, repentance, resurrection, judgment, holiness, and the authority of God
- Treats Scripture as flexible storytelling rather than divine revelation
- Reduces miracles to metaphors or emotional lessons
- Injects modern ideological interpretations into ancient texts
- Recasts Jesus as a friendly social activist rather than the incarnate Son of God

Individually, some shifts may seem small.
Cumulatively? They reshape the entire faith - warm, charming, and imaginative… but theologically unrecognizable to historic Christianity.

Parents reading this aloud likely won’t notice the deeper reframing unless they’re intentionally watching for it. The tone is gentle, the illustrations adorable, and the writing soothing - which honestly makes the doctrinal drift more concerning, not less.

Now, Goodreads has a character limit (bless their hearts), which means I can’t post all chapters worth of analysis in this single box.
And trust me… this book deserves a full, honest, chapter-by-chapter review.

So if you really want to see what’s going on under the surface… keep scrolling.

I’ve added the entire chapter-by-chapter breakdown in the comments below this review so nothing is lost to the character-count void.

The Amazon version was the trailer.
This?
This is the whole movie — popcorn optional, theological discernment required.

Scroll down for the full breakdown.

[Timothy Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, I read through the Bible again, sort of! God's Stories as Told by God’s Children comes from the folks at The Bible for Normal People. It's a collection of authors, theologians, critical Bible scholars, and more, all writing in plain language that kids can understand. I really appreciated and loved the stance that
1. The Bible is not inerrant or infallible
2. The Bible does not speak with a single, unified voice

It’s a great resource for children, even if some parts might still go over their heads. The reflection questions at the end of each story are especially thoughtful. They help recapture the spirit of how these stories were originally told, sparking discussion and reflection on what they mean for us today.

Christians, this would make a great addition to your family library.

[John Lustrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The diversity of story tellers and story styles was partially a pro by illustrating that’s sort of how the Bible is. But having a slightly more unified voice (and a slightly clearer idea of an intended audience age) would have been preferred.
Similarly I love that this book utilized the latest in biblical scholarship, but at times I wish academics hadn’t tried to write what they thought kids would want to read/connect with.
Overall, I LOVE that this book exists. I just would have approached it slightly differently

[Terry Kreutzkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book with lovely illustrations and thoughtful discussion questions (and checking out the additional resources available thru the QR code - they're amazing and plentiful!). I'm curious how the writing will engage my younger grandchildren as it seems that some of the vocabulary will need lots of explanation.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super interesting to me and I really loved how the stories were also explained for their literary purpose, but I'm a grown-ass man who knows the Bible fairly well.
I'd be interested to know if people's children were able to enjoy this. The illustrations are wonderful and each story is told quite well.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read aloud book for children, grandchildren with a few questions to talk about at the end of each story that inspired critical thinking instead of indoctrination. I enjoyed it as an adult also.

[Jamie McClintock · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s absolutely incredible! The authors, artists, and editors have truly put together something special. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we are.