Book Review: The Jesus Storybook Bible

I don’t keep it a secret that The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones is my favorite children’s bible storybook. So, I’m thrilled to announce that now you can purchase not only the original The Jesus Storybook Bible but that you can now purchase it in a lovely leather bound edition and as part of the collection edition set which contains the audio CDs of David Suchet’s narration AND a DVD of the stories.

Why I recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible:

Most storybook bibles are composed of simple Bible stories interspersed with either Renaissance paintings or cutesy cartoon drawings. Typically, the story telling is unoriginal and treats each story as a moralistic lesson.

The Jesus Storybook Bible is different.

• All the stories tie into what the Bible is really about: Jesus Christ
• Rather than focusing on “do this” applications, the stories emphasize God’s love and his mercy. Humility and love for others is emphasized, while false religion and hypocrisy is criticized.
• The storytelling is written for children rather than just being simplified adult-speak. And, Sally Lloyd-Jones brings a fresh take to the familiar stories while staying true to the text.
• The illustrations are unique and attractive to children.

The Jesus Storybook Bible has been out for a while, so what’s new?

 
The Jesus Storybook Bible Leather edition

While a leather edition might seem like a luxury for a children’s storybook, I know that our first hardback edition was read so many times that it literally fell apart. I was impressed by how soft and beautiful the leather cover was and how neatly the spine stayed open when reading. The pages are edged with gold and the book has a burgundy ribbon for marking pages.

At time of posting, this edition is only priced at under $25 on Amazon, and in my opinion the quality far exceeds the price tag. This edition would make a particularly lovely baptism or Valentines’ Day gift.



The Jesus Storybook Bible Collector’s edition

I have been waiting for the collector’s edition to be released since the DVD was first released as a part of Sunday School material last spring. To my knowledge, this set is the first time the DVD has been sold as part of a lower priced package for families. The collector’s edition contains:

• The collector edition The Jesus Storybook Bible: Basically a higher quality hardback version of the original The Original Jesus Storybook Bible. The cover is an elegant cream colored portrait of Jesus in the center and with a burgundy binding. This edition also has a ribbon for marking the page, and while the book doesn’t lay open quite as nicely as the leather edition it still lays open quite well for a hardback copy.
• The audiobook tracks for The Jesus Storybook Bible narrated by David Suchet. You may be familiar with David Suchet as an actor, since he is well-known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. His narration of The Jesus Storybook is very engaging and fits the style of the book quite well.
• The DVD animation: While the animations are just basic moving illustrations from the book narrated by David Suchet’s voice, the DVD is still nice to own. The menu of the DVD included an option to watch the individual short stories or play the stories as a whole.  My preschooler was a little bored by it, but I think that was mainly due to the fact that he has heard the stories from the book many times. When he was younger, he would sit and watch the animated stories that are online, and he enjoyed them.

The nice thing is you can actually listen to several tracks from the narration and watch  a segment of the DVD online on The Jesus Storybook website. These samples should give you a pretty good idea of whether investing in the CDs and DVDs are worth the extra money for your family. They are also the best way to get a feel for the storybook in general if you have never seen it before. 

Zondervan has also made an additional video segment from The Jesus Storybook Bible available for free on YouTube, Light of the World:

If you are interested in The Jesus Storybook Bible but not ready to invest in the deluxe or collectors edition, you can purchase just the book on Amazon. A Kindle version is also available (I have not personally read the Kindle version).

The Jesus Storybook Bible Leather Edition

The Jesus Storybook Bible Collectors Edition

The Jesus Storybook Book Bible

The Jesus Storybook Bible Kindle Edition

 
Special thanks to Zonderkidz for sending me these two editions to review. The earlier editions that I reference are ones that I bought personally. This blog contains affiliate links.