Monday, February 15, 2010

The BIG PICTURE Story Bible

The BIG PICTURE Story Bible

Written by David Helm
Illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker
Published at Crossway

About the book
No child is too young to begin learning about the greatest love story of all—God’s love for his people, as portrayed in the Bible. David R. Helm and Gail Schoonmaker collaborate to create a beautifully illustrated book of Bible stories especially for children, written with simplicity. Rather than simply retelling the most familiar short scenes from the Bible, this book presents the “big picture”—the unified story running through the Old and New Testaments. This delightful book will help children learn the Bible’s whole story and begin to appreciate the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people.

The Big Picture Bible Story Book is perfect for parents to read to their children, and eventually, for children to read on their own. It is an excellent way to introduce them to a book that will guide them through all of life.

Who is David Helm?
David Helm serves on the pastoral staff of Holy Trinity Church, a multi-congregational church in Chicago. In addition he is the executive director of The Simeon Trust, which partners with churches to train men for gospel ministry. In this capacity, he leads workshops on biblical exposition to promote practical instruction in preaching. Helm is the co-author of The Genesis Factor (with Jon Dennis) and a contributor to Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching.

Who is Gail Schoonmaker?
Growing up, Gail Schoonmaker loved to draw pictures depicting the songs and stories she heard in church. She earned a B.A. in art from Wheaton College and makes her home in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood with her husband, Keith, and their four children.

My Thoughts
What an interesting concept. The BIG PICTURE Story Bible is indeed a BIG book. You should have seen my face when I received the package from Crossway with the book to be reviewed that month. It was heavy and huge. I was thinking: “What in the world did Crossway have sent this time?”

But it was a nice surprise in the package. The Big Picture Story Bible is a delight to read with the kids. The colourful images are simply fantastic and out-of-the-ordinary. Every now and then you will get a picture of people looking up in the sky as though God is looking down on them. Sometimes, they are crying out to Him, other times they are rejoicing for what He has done. These illustrations were definitively a different way to look at God’s Word for sure.

Even the text is different to other picture bibles we have seen in the past. It will take the reader from Genesis to Revelation and will bring parts of the Bible to life. Sometimes, you will even read a perspective not often seen in the children’s picture bibles.

My kids enjoyed reading this story bible. They commented on the illustrations and thought it was very interesting to see the people looking up at you while reading it. My oldest son even took the book and sat one afternoon to go through it. He was very impressed with the whole book in general.

This wonderful book would be a great gift for a child you know or simply as a baby shower gift.

This review was possible because I received a copy of The BIG PICTURE Story Bible from Crossway.

The BIG PICTURE Story Bible is available everywhere even at amazon.ca and indigo.ca.

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