God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook by Carl Laferton

This fully illustrated Bible storybook is aimed at children 2-6 years old. There are 92 Bible stories told in simple language. This Bible highlights different promises God has made and gives you different colored icons to track if a story belongs to one of the five “Promise Paths”: Rescue, People, Land, Joy, and King.

The heart behind this Bible storybook is clear: the author wants very young children to see that God is faithful in His promises. The captivating illustrations are brightly colored and a wonderful mix of realism and artistry. Each story is brief in length and could be read in just a few minutes. Knowing other books by this author, I see some of the same language used in his other works.

“God told Moses to put a thick curtain in front of that most special place. It was like a big Keep Out sign. It showed the people that because they did not keep God’s laws all the time, they did not deserve to be friends with God and live with him forever.”

While it is clear the author wants to use language that will resonate with young children, there were several times where, in an effort to simplify the text, it was actually made more confusing. When describing the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in this way:

“People could eat from Special Tree Number One if they wanted to stay alive. Anyone could eat from it every day, and never die. People could eat from Special Tree Number Two if they wanted to be in charge. Anyone could eat from it to show that they thought they should make the rules. God have Adam two promises. The first was ‘You are free to eat from any tree, including Special Tree Number One. Then you will enjoy life forever.’ The second was ‘You must not eat from Special Tree Number Two, because you are not in charge. If you do, you won’t be able to enjoy my garden forever. Instead, you will die.'”

While I can see what the author is trying to do, the description of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil seems harder to understand than simply what Scripture says. I think there might be some untangling of misunderstandings with this phrasing. While this is probably the most confusing example, I will list others below.

My other concern is that the word “sin” is only used twice and not until the story where a paralytic is lowered through the roof to Jesus. There is no mention at all in the Old Testament section. While people have different feelings about how much we should lean into this with young children, I think it doesn’t do them favors to avoid the word “sin” until they are older. Yes, this Bible storybook uses the word, but only twice- and in the same story.

There is a small Gospel presentation in the story of the Holy Spirit descending at Pentecost. “Jesus did many great things. God’s plan was for him to die and then rise back to life- and he did. We saw it! Jesus is the promise-keeping king. You need to live with him as your king and ask him to forgive you- and then he will pour his Spirit into you too.”

Overall, I think this book could be used to spark conversations with young children, but I view that conversation as necessary when reading to give clarity that will likely be needed.

Other things to note:

The text skips Moses murdering an Egyptian, which I don’t see as problematic, but the text reads, “Moses in the Israelite grew up in Pharaoh’s palace, but when he was older he chose the side of the Israelites, not the Egyptians. Pharaoh was so angry that Moses had to run away to live in a different country.”

The Ten Commandments have been rewritten in “child-friendly” language.

When Jesus is showing compassion for the woman whose son died, it says, “When Jesus saw this woman, he felt so sad deep down inside that his tummy hurt.”

Referring to Luke 7:18-28, it reads, “John is doing something great, because he is a great messenger from God. But if you live with me as king, you are part of something even greater than that.”

In retelling the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, it sugar coats what happened to the man after he died. Hell is a important part of that parable, and instead it reads, “He hadn’t listened to God’s messengers telling him to love and obey God and to ask him for forgiveness- and so he was not able to be where Lazarus was. Instead, he went to a place where there was nothing good. He was filled up with deep sadness.”

Instead of using the word paradise or even heaven when Jesus is talking to the thief on the cross, he says, “…you will be with me in my wonderful place.” This seems unnecessarily simplistic.

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