Best Children’s Bibles for Babies To Preschoolers 2019

First published November 2012. Updated 2019.

The best Children's Bibles for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers

 

One of our three Christmas gifts each year to our boys is either a new Children’s Bible or a Bible Story Book. It is always so fun to curl up together and open the unturned pages in a new Bible for the first time. We have accumulated quite the collection of children’s bibles since our first child was born nearly five years ago. I thought it would be helpful to create a list of the best children’s Bibles for toddlers, & preschoolers (in my opinion).

 

The 9 Best Children's Bibles for Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers

Bible Books For Kids

Yes, we own every single one of these children’s Bibles I’ve mentioned below… and these are just the ones that I like and recommend! You might wonder:  Why do I need to have more than one children’s Bible? Well, I’m not sure that you “need” multiple Bibles, but I have found that not a single children’s bible includes all of the stories in the Bible (or all the stories I want to teach my children).

Obviously, an illustrated children’s Bible book certainly could not…but I want my children to hear as much of the Bible as they can, which includes the many stories we find in the Good Book. As our children grow…so does their attention span and understanding of these stories so I think it important to have age-appropriate Bibles in our home.

Also, it is important to remember that each of these children’s Bible is someone’s interpretation. I am thankful for these interpretations, however, because they help my little ones yearn to grow closer and know God more from a younger age. They take the Bible and make it accessible and developmentally-appropriate for even the tiniest of children.

The Best Children’s Bibles

Baby Bible

Even though babies will not understand or retain the baby Bible stories you read to them, I believe it is important for Christian families to make reading a Bible story a habit within days of welcoming your baby home. Here are just a few of our favorite bible story books for newborns through to early toddlers.

best childrens bibles

My Pajama Bible by Andy Holmes

This children’s bible is divided into 30 individual stories with 2 paragraphs each of rhyming text related telling each story. The rhyme and rhythm to this baby Bible make it the perfect read-aloud for babies. It isn’t the best in terms of content (explaining the stories, etc.), but it is an easy, rhythmic read-aloud Bible story book.

Baby’s Hug-a-Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This board-book baby Bible, much like The Pajama Bible, is written in beautiful poetry. There are only 10 stories included and they are relatively short (around 2 paragraphs each–perfect for a baby’s short attention span). The Bible itself is large enough to hug and the entire book is covered with a snuggly, sheep-like fabric (which you can’t see from the picture)! The emphasis of every story is on God’s love for us. This is now my go-to baby Bible for baby showers and baby gifts!

The Baby Bible Animals by Robin Currie

This children’s Bible story book is different than the other two recommended for babies in that it includes actions! The stories are simple and short and include at least three actions with every story (roar like a lion, pretend you are hammering, etc), making it perfect for babies 6 months and older. This was both of my boys’ favorite children’s bible well into toddlerhood! There are also gender-specific versions of the Baby Bible for boys and girls (although some of the stories are the same).

Lift the Flap Bible

Lift the Flap Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones

This sweet Bible story book is written by Sally Lloyd Jones (the same author of the Jesus Storybook Bible) and is great for interactive readers who love to lift flaps! Both Old and New Testament bible stories are included. I would suggest this Bible for babies from 1-2 years.

Toddler Bible

The Beginner’s Bible for Toddlers by Mission City Press Inc.

This toddler Bible is written in more of a narrative form (unlike the poetry and actions that characterized the baby bibles). Your child will be able to recall some details from these stories and will begin to get a sense for the lessons each toddler Bible story teaches us.

the Jesus Story Book Bible by Dennis G. Jones

This children’s Bible story book is perfect for wiggly toddlers who love to look at the pictures. With only 1-2 sentences on each page, toddlers will enjoy learning about the Bible stories through pictures and short narrative. With the exception of the Creation story (which is amazingly illustrated) the illustrations are much more caricature-like than any of the other Bibles (which may or may not appeal to you and your child). I personally prefer the illustrations of the other Bibles, but I know that this will appeal to my boys. There are 24 stories in this Bible (10 Old Testament and 14 New Testament). I ordered this Bible for Little Brother for Christmas. We haven’t read it all together yet, but I did look through all of the stories and was really impressed how simple the content was while still capturing the essence of each story.

Preschool Bible

Would you think I was crazy if I told you that I didn’t know how to the Bible “fit” together until I was in college and began an in-depth Bible study? I didn’t realize that all of the individual stories I learned about in Bible Class (which I went to since I was a baby) all told about the same people, God’s chosen nation of Israel. Nor did I realize just how much the Old Testament pointed to the coming of our Savior in the New Testament. Thankfully, my children will not have this void in their faith walk with the prevalence of children’s bibles that tell the story of Jesus literally from the beginning.

the Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This is my absolute favorite children’s bible ever written (thus far). Sally Lloyd-Jones does a beautiful job of writing over 40 of the most important stories in narrative form,  including our need for a rescuer (Jesus) in every single story (even in the Old Testament). The illustrations are a bit more abstract, but still capture the essence of each story. If you are looking for ONE bible to read together as a family, THIS is the one!

The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm

This is another great kids Bible that points to our need for a Savior. The illustrations are very lifelike and the bible itself is rather large, making the title even more relevant. This bible is appropriate for slightly older children because it is not really “fluffed” like many other children’s bibles. The Old Testament section of this Bible talks a lot about punishment and God’s anger, but then again…that is a lot of what we read about in the Old Testament. Overall, it paints a very realistic picture of the stories in the Bible.

Jesus Calling Bible Storybook by Sarah Young

This preschoolers Bible is brand-new to us. I actually bought it for Big Brother for Christmas this year, so he hasn’t gotten to read it yet. I have read several of the stories and I absolutely love the illustrations. At the end of every story, it has a “Jesus Calling” section with a scripture reference that emphasizes Jesus’ presence as well as how we can apply the story to our lives (“I was there when Adam and Eve left the Garden forever”; “Sometimes in this world, you will have to suffer for doing the right thing”). My only complaint is that not all the stories are similar in length, which could be a good thing for using it with younger children and siblings.

The Story for Children by Max Lucado, Randy Frazee & Karen Davis Hill

This children’s Bible is very similar to the Jesus Calling Bible Storybook. The illustrations are beautiful and are a work of art in themselves. The stories are relatively short and keep the attention of both of our boys. At the end of every story, there is a section called “God’s Message” which encapsulates God’s love and what He has taught the character in that particular story.

Children’s Bible

Adventure Bible

The Adventure Bible

This is an actual Bible with all 66 books and comes in the NIrV translation to ease young readers into being able to read the Bible on their very own. The NIrV is not my favorite translation, and certainly not the most reliable, but it is a great way to bridge the gap between children’s Bible story books and the NIV, ESV, or even King James translations.

Christian Children’s Books

These Christian books for kids are also worth checking out…

The Big Red Tractor by Francis Chan

This parable for children, written by the author of Crazy Love, is a wonderful portrayal of how we function best when following the Bible, which God has given us as our “instruction manual for life.” The story tells about a village who plows a field by having all of the villagers push and pull the tractor, not knowing that it could actually run by itself until someone finds the instruction manual in the attic. Just the like the tractor, we can achieve our true potential with God’s help when we look to our instruction manual (the Bible)!

Halfway Herbert by Francis Chan

Some readers have described this book as Crazy Love for Kids. Herbert only does things halfway:  his homework, cleaning his room, and eating his dinner. He gets caught telling a half-truth and his dad teaches him that if he’s going to live pleasing to Jesus, he’s going to have to put his whole heart into it.

Ronnie Wilson’s Gift by Francis Chan

 This book is a tear-jerker (for adults, anyway). Ronnie learns about Jesus’ great sacrifice in Sunday School and wants to give Jesus a gift. He tries to mail Jesus his coveted baseball glove, but the post office doesn’t mail to Heaven. On his way home, he sees a man who is hungry and uses the money he brought for postage to buy the man a hot dog. Later on, he is jumping on his trampoline, trying to reach Heaven, when he sees his lonely neighbor boy over the fence. He asks his neighbor to jump on the trampoline with him. Finally, he buys a big balloon to use to fly his baseball glove to Jesus only to hear a little girl crying because her balloon floated away. Ronnie gives the little girl his balloon, but then feels badly because he didn’t give a gift to Jesus. That night he has a dream where Jesus tells him that when he gave the food to the hungry man, his time to his neighbor, and the balloon to the sad little girl, Ronnie was giving a gift to him.

What is your family’s favorite children’s Bible?

*The links in this post are my affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy.

Click here for more children’s Bible resources and activities:

Books of the Bible Activities for Kids

David and Goliath Craft

Proverbs 21 v 1 Activity for Preschoolers

Books of the Bible Activity with Ping Pong Balls

ABC Printable Scripture Cards

Free Printable Scripture Cards for Moms

16 Comments

  1. The Jesus Storybook Bible is my favorite! I loved reading it myself when I first got it and I love sharing it with my boys now that they are old enough to move beyond board books. The illustrations are gorgeous and not too Caucasian. :) The gospel is woven throughout the whole book as it should be. Thank you for this review.

  2. We really like “The Story Bible”. It’s put out by Concordia Publishing and it has beautiful illustrations and the wording is very close to the actual Scripture. It really covers a lot of Scriptural accounts that other Bible storybooks haven’t covered (at least that I’ve seen).

    Thank you for all the suggestions, they are wonderful ideas since we’re looking to possibly get the Jesus Storybook Bible for our daughter for Christmas! Here’s the link to The Story Bible if you’re interested :) http://www.cph.org/p-18257-the-story-bible.aspx

  3. Love all of these recommendations! We bought both of our sons (2 and 6 months) their first Bible when they were baptized. We got The Beginner’s Bible. My older son loves it still but mom and dad were getting tired of reading it over and over. So we recently bought the Jesus Storybook Bible because it was recommended to me by several friends. Even though he’s young for it he really likes it. And I love that every story points to Jesus. Thanks for this great review!

  4. Love this list! We’ve read through the Beginner’s Bible (a man blessed us with it while we were out for a walk one day! so sweet!), and the Jesus Storybook Bible (wonderful!) – another recommendation I’d make is My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt – it was perfect for my 4 year old! Next on our list is http://www.amazon.com/The-Word-Song-Bible-Believers/dp/0805416897/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1ZPN2VCV1XEJV&coliid=I3SMJYEC7YO9BN – a friend has it and it looks great!

  5. I really appreciate all of your insight on these Bibles. We have a couple of them for my grandson, but nothing appropriate for right now (he’s only 8 months). I’ve added these to my Amazon wish list. He’s being dedicated in 2 weeks… I think the Hug-a-Bible sounds like a perfect gift for his parents on this occasion. Thanks so much!

  6. Thank you SO much for this post!! I literally was just looking two days ago into what Bible to get my 2.5-year-old daughter for Christmas. I worked at Family Christian Stores for 6 years but since that was before kids, I didn’t look much into the kids books. Thanks for your thoughts on these!

  7. Here is one of our favorites. Little Hands Story Bible by Carine Mackenzie http://www.amazon.com/Little-Hands-Story-Carine-Mackenzie/dp/1845504356

    She sums up the story really well and she asks three questions at the end of each story. The questions follow the Who? What? When? How many? format. My 2 1/2 has learned how to answer and ask questions from us reading through this each night. As a teacher I LOVE how it has taught him how to analyze a Bible story. She definitely does an AWESOME job in teaching children how to think. She also ends each lesson with a thought to take away. It is written specifically for toddlers. She has a bunch of other really great story Bibles and books. My son and foster care children absolutely LOVE how this fits right in their hands. We buy one to send home with each of our foster care children.

    As a teacher turned SAHM I LOVE your blog! You’ve given me lots of wonderful ideas and have kept me inspired to be creative with my son.

  8. Thank you so much for this blog post. I’ve been looking for a book for my 2.5 year old son and your post helped me narrow down my selection. God bless :)

  9. I am a Sunday school teacher and I am interested in getting the children’s bibles and other Christian books and materials for both Sunday school and business (Book Shop). How do I access these items and what are the terms and conditions?

  10. Thanks for such a great post! I would love to get some bibles among this list. I guess my baby will be happy and well-taught with a help of them. xx

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