God’s Story by Becky Dudley

This large format, softcover story Bible covers over 120 stories from the Old and New Testaments. Each story is one page long, has a Bible reference, and has some kind of illustration to accompany it. There are two reading options for each story, one longer version for older children and a shorter summary for younger children. There are also section summaries entitled Threads of Hope to help tie the story together.

This Biblically faithful story Bible strives to retell Scripture accurately while adding helpful historical information to help children better understand cultural differences.

“Jesus decided to return to Galilee by way of Samaria. This territory had been taken by the Assyrians when they conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B. C. The land was inhabited by Israelites who had intermarried with the foreigners who had resettled the land after the Assyrian captivity. It was generally forbidden for Jews to intermarry with Gentiles for fear the Jews would adopt their idolatrous practices, and that is what happened. Though the Samaritans continued to worship the Lord, they had also worshiped idols (2 Kings 17:24-40). For this reason, the Jews in Judea would have nothing to do with them. Jesus made a point of stopping at a well in Samaria.”

I also find it unique that each story has two versions, one for older children and one for younger ones, so this story Bible can grow with your children as they age. I very much appreciate that the author doesn’t shy away from using the word sin in both versions of the text. The highly provocative stories are not included like David and Bathsheba, Judah and Tamar, Dinah, etc.

I appreciate the realistic neoclassical art throughout, although I do take issue with the way Jesus is depicted: his nose is remarkably thin, even for a European. Overall, this is a solid story Bible that strives to be faithful to the Word of God.

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