Story Bible
David Helm
What is it?
This children’s Bible walks through the whole story of the Gospel starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation. It is divided into 26 chapters, each telling a key story in the overarching storyline of the Gospel. Each chapter serves as a stand-alone story but assumes the reader is reading them in order as the stories build on one another.
Helm does an amazing job of tying all the stories together by using repeating themes and wording (“God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule”). He wrote it in a very interactive way, asking the readers questions as he tells the stories.
The illustrations only make it better. Aside from the obvious benefits of beautiful full-page pictures that engage children and help them follow the story, the illustrator (Gail Schoonmaker) followed Helm’s storytelling approach of tying the stories together with repeating themes and images.
This Bible also comes with an audio recording (on CD) of the whole book. It is read by the author with music tones indicating when the page should be turned, allowing a child to follow along.
Who’s it for?
This Bible does an incredible job of revealing the storyline of the Gospel throughout the whole Bible, and in that regard it’s helpful for anyone. However, it’s best used by younger children (age 2 through 5). It’s written at a pre-K level and is intended to be one of the first introductions to the story of the Gospel as it’s interwoven throughout the Bible.
It is a perfect resource for families, with parents reading it to their children and exploring the illustrations together. However, the audio resource also provides a way for children to listen by themselves.
How’d it go?
“We used this Bible every morning for our family Bible time. Our 3-year-old daughter insisted on sitting where she could see the pictures and quietly followed along with each story. She asked questions about what was going on and was genuinely invested in the characters (celebrating when they’re happy and showing concern when they’re sad).
“One great memory with this book was when we got to Jesus death and resurrection. It’s covered in three chapters (his death, the disciples waiting, his resurrection). The first two chapters have a sad and unsure tone to them. The author leaves some questions in the air about what is going to happen. For two days in a row, our daughter showed great concern for what was happening. On the third day, when I read about Jesus coming back to life, she smiled from ear to ear and started clapping.” – Carter Brown