The Children's Illustrated Bible

by Selina Shirley Hastings

In this magnificently illustrated edition of the Bible, all the best-loved stories of both Old and New Testaments are retold for young readers by Selina Hastings. Her fluent, lively style reflects the character and majesty of the original, while vivid and finely detailed illustrations by Eric Thomas bring to life the people and places referred to in the stories. The Children’s Illustrated Bible features the • Color photographs of plants, animals, people, and places of the Bible lands
• Maps of the lands of the Old and New Testaments
• Prepared in consultation with educators and scholars.
• A special gift for children and a source of inspiration for the entire family

Genres: Religion, Childrens, Christian, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Spirituality, Discipleship

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 1993

About the author

Lady Selina Shirley Hastings is a British journalist, author and biographer.

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to stop reading this book. Although I never read the bible, because I don't believe in it. I really tried to like it. The book presentation is great, with great drawings and pictures. I just didn't like the violence and incest stuff. It gave me more questions than answers.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step your cookies up before they crumble.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice change of pace from our other story Bibles, cool illustrations, but the retellings are not my favorite. There were many rephrasing, especially of direct quotations, that seemed unnecessary to me.

[Bellatuscana Bellatuscana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best bible for children and adults. Devoid of all complications (mostly), theoretical jargon, and long, boring passages. I picked up this book again because it was a book that enchanted me as a child. I wanted to read a bible, and had been unable to read it front to back. I begun thinking at a small group of the wonderful children's bible I used to have. Reading it again, I'm reminded the usefulness of the historical information and illustrations, as well as the important context biblical stories have in the real world. DK has simple but informative books that make dissecting information much easier (there was a Chinese book I picked up earlier in the year for a Mandarin refresher). The illustrations are beautiful enough that, if the author did stories from the Quran or another holy text, I would read them too with illustrations as beautiful as these. I feel that this book will be one I turn back to again and again, as well as feel good to pass onto my own children should I have them.

[Zane Blanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a German translation of this. First time reading the through the bible, and I feel like I have at least a familiarity with most of the major stories which I think helps to understand a lot of Christian and Jewish culture. The illustrations, maps, and historical facts are also really nice and honestly I wonder if they have a full version like this for adults. It really helps to get visuals and additional info, although I guess footnotes could also do the trick.

[Cole Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

We jumped ship on this children's bible about halfway through. It had its merits - many stories that other children's bibles tend to overlook are included, the pictures are great, and the story lengths are perfect for tackling one story per night before bed. The writing irritated me though. Some of the wording was no clearer or kid-friendly than as they appear in the bible itself. I liked that very few details were left out, but the author failed to word the stories in a way that all my children (2-6yrs) could follow and understand. After a few weeks of going through this each night, I found myself using the pictures and narration as a guide to tell the stories myself. Not a bad thing necessarily, but not exactly a thumbs up for The Children's Illustrated Bible either.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as a child and was not interested in reading it at the time, plus it seemed overwhelming to me at the time. Now as an adult many years later, I picked it up and finally read it! I enjoyed the illustrations and captions that go along with all the stories told. It's organized chronologically with more than half the book on the Old Testament. The stories are told in an easy to understand manner without being "preachy." I have a better understanding of the stories told in the Bible now that I read this Children's Illustrated version, which I think would be totally fine for adults to read as well.

[Emma Higley]

This book is perfect for introducing children to some of key stories from the Bible, and makes a great addition to RS lessons for younger ones. Translating the Bible into this format makes it much more accessible and engaging for children and is therefore a must have for RS teachers looking to delve into christianity.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Held my kids' attention -- we read every single story! My family is not religious but we believe in the importance of biblical literacy as part of a well-rounded education. We find this book a good intro to the Bible.

It's missing some memorable (to me) stories and included some less important (to me) ones, but overall just the right length and nicely illustrated.

[Julie Winkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for children all through elementary school! Easy to understand and fantastic real photos.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like that there is real real pitchers but I can't understand it much.

[Nikola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview for anyone

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irene
You
Are
The
Best

[Kate Hornstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, doesn't talk down to kids.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is way too much information here to be a book for children. Despite this, it was a very interesting read for an adult.

[Ahdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Children's Illustrated Bible brings the stories of the Bible to life through beautiful narrative illustrations that capture key moments as they are described in the text. With over 500 photographs and maps, this edition vividly evokes the historical context, giving young readers a deeper sense of time and place for each story. Perfect for introducing children to the Bible, this book combines engaging visuals with accessible storytelling to make the timeless lessons of scripture more relatable and memorable.

[Gail Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly fine collection of biblical stories, presented in an upper primary level.
Well laid out materials and illustrations for each biblical account.
The page headings include scripture references and a title .
I would use this with a Sunday School class, as a home reference, and even for a quick refresher. There’s a helpful index and Who’s Who in the Bible Stories included.
As a note: like all human readings, using a true Bible is the best, so this book simply creates an interest in the Bible’s stories.

[Karawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to step out of Mass this morning due to a 10-month-old that wanted to practice his new walking skills. I saw this on a table in the church's library and picked it up. I was easily able to find the parable that the priest was discussing in the next room and read it to my son. He listened and looked at the pages but could still crawl around the way he needed to. So he still got something spiritual out of the morning!

I've only read a few pages, but I like the format and the illustrations. It seems like it's at a perfect level for reading with children, but not too "diluted" like other children's Bible stories I've seen. It also seems to cover a wider range of the Bible than those other ones. I'm thinking of getting a copy for our home now, but in the meantime I'll definitely be using this one at church whenever I have to take a squirmy little boy into another room!

[Ci · Rating 5 out of 5]

The merits of this book are obvious -- nice, handy bindings, good combination of texts and graphics, key maps and photographs. But how does the compiler filtering out the contents for children? All the group punishment and suffering aside, how can one avoid the Abraham and Issac, or Jephathah's Daughter? The former had a happy ending but then we have the heart-wrenching actual death of Jephathah's daughter in the hand of her father. At least this compilation did not flinch from these stories. I wonder how would a parent explain the story to a child.

I keep this book for my own use. Let the cynical adult to laugh and scoff; for me, it is handy to have around when I need to check up a story.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this children's version of the Bible. My husband and I wanted something that would be easy to understand for our children and would not leave out stories for illustration sake. Too many Bible we came across left our so many stories (went from Jonah to the birth of Christ) or left out everything after the resurrection. We wanted the WHOLE Bible in children's language. This Bible has been exactly what we were looking for and we have been so happy with it. We read it every night during our family worship time. Definitely would recommend it to anyone looking for an appropriate Bible for young children.

[Heather]

June 2022:
Noah is so curious about the old biblical stories and has been asking lots of questions about them, so we are trying out this version as a way to introduce them. It’s a little complicated because I’ve always been very honest with them about my own personal uncertainty regarding God and religion, but I also think it’s so important to know these stories for western cultural understanding. Either way, in the end, I get to spend time reading with him. And he would sit for hours listening.

August 2022:
Noah and I restarted our Harry Potter 6 journey together and so have set this aside for now. We may revisit in the future.

[♥Xeni♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

As bibles go, I think I liked this one best. The only part that's at all interesting about the bible are the stories, and this DK book really makes them appear for what they are: exaggerated myths for children to behave so that the boogey-man doesn't get them. I read it a few times as a child, and I have a better background and understanding of the bible (and due to that, the crazy thing that is religion) thanks to this illustrated bible.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it for not cleaning up the messy parts and good pictures. The last two stars I withheld because they left out too many of the best stories - especially in Judges - and because their storytelling needs work.

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was trying to incorporate the bible in our history lessons, and was excited when I came across this book. I love how this book makes the bible accessible to children without adding made-up details, and covers more than the usual stories.

[Varghese Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids like it as it is easier to relate to this version. The pictures are simple and illustrative. A good buy even though it doesn't adhere to a specific bible version it definitely is the better version to get the kids interested in learning the Bible.

[Brian Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well detailed book about the history in Christianity. Detailed over important parts such the crucification , Moses, Jericho and other parts. Highly recommended for people who want to learn about the history of how our lord almighty started the world.

[Deb Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great Bible for kids who are too old for picture books and too young to read word-only versions. The sidebars include historical information about the topics. I read this with my 9 year-old granddaughter.

[ElizaBeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the illustrated Bible I had, but close enough. Let it be said that the Bible IS, in fact, good reading when in cartoon format.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations. A few minor liberties taken with the stories, and some background info to the sides of the stories that I could do without. So, illustrations 4.5 stars and text 3.5.

[Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good intro to Christian religion... Although still agnostic after reading it.