It is important to me that the children have a Bible that they can read and understand. So, when we were given the opportunity to review this recently released Bible, we were quite excited. My daughter was wanting a Bible of her very own and this fit the bill just right. Ever since my mother bought the children LEGO sets for Christmas last year, they have enjoyed building and creating with this wonderful, timeless medium. I thought it was neat that a Bible would have a building block theme, as did my daughter.
The children were quite excited when Amelia's new Bible arrived. They all seemed to need to help her open the box.
The Bible itself is a New International Reader's Version meaning it is based on the New International Version (NIV), but it has been made easier to read for beginning readers, for example, using smaller, easier to understand words.
What makes this NIrV Bible different than other ones is the addition of the building block theme. Spaced throughout the Bible are 24 glossy pages with pictures of intricate building block creations depicting Bible scenes. Each picture also includes a short description of the picture, a note on where to find the story in the Bible, and a relevant "Building Block Verse." Here, take a look at one of the pages:
In addition to the story of Samson, you will find some other popular Bible stories, such as: Noah and the Ark, the Tower of Babel, The Ten Commandments, David and Goliath, the Birth of Jesus, the Last Supper and quite a few more.
There are several glossy pages that share simpler pictures with profound truths. The reader will be introduced to the Books of the Bible, The Lord's Prayer, and The ABCs of Salvation. There is also a page in the front of the Bible that invites the child to create some simple constructions.
The children decided to build their own crosses. Tabitha took it upon herself to help Harold.
They added their own little detail to the crosses.
Once they were all done, we read the Bible verse that went with the cross, "Whoever wants to be my disciple. . . must pick up their cross and follow me." They then paraded around the dining room, following the cross while holding their own crosses.
Mommy joined in the fun and created the fish.
Now, I have to admit, most of the constructions are way too detailed for us to recreate at home. We don't have nearly enough blocks or the variety needed. However, we have enjoyed looking at the pictures during our Bible time. If a person was reading about a specific event in the Bible, it would be a great time to find the corresponding picture in the Bible. Or, perhaps during a family or private devotional time, the reader could go through the Bible and pick one of the pictures to read about and delve into more deeply. The Building Block Verses are great selections for memory work.
In addition to the Building Block related pages, this Faith Builders Bible from Zonderkidz has a Dictionary and List of Great Bible Stories in the back of the Bible. The Bible itself contains no further embellishments. It is strictly the word of God.
I really appreciate the thought of the Building Block Verses and the whole idea behind the Faith Builders Bible. We like to sing the song about the wise man who builds his house on the rock and in the final verse we sing about building our house (or life) on the Lord Jesus Christ. This book offers children a hands on way of seeing how we can build our lives on Jesus, reading and memorizing His Word.
Though I love the concept of the book, I do have a few concerns I would like to share with you.
I think it would be beneficial to have a list of the stories that are included in the picture pages. As I mentioned above, there is a list of 92 Great Bible Stories in the back of the Faith Builders Bible. I would have loved to see perhaps a simple asterisk next to each story that had a picture featured in the Bible.
Also, we would have loved more simple creations to make. While it was awesome to see the pictures of the more detailed creations, I think the children were a little disappointed that they were unable to recreate them. They had a blast making the cross and helping me make the fish. However, none of us could figure out the sheep because it is pictured head-on and we couldn't figure out which blocks to use.
Lastly, I have to admit, I was disappointed in the size of the font in the Bible. According to the website the font is "very readable." I will admit that for an adult or older child, it is readable. However, this Bible is meant for beginning readers (ages 6-9) who would have a much easier time reading the words if the font were a bit larger. I actually compared the font to that in my own Bible and found that my Bible's font is easier for me to read. The Faith Builders Bible's font is smaller and the lines are closer together than my Bible.
Final thoughts:
If you have a LEGO loving child, this Bible may be just right for them. If they are looking for a way to have some hands-on building fun, just be aware that you will need a lot of blocks to be able to complete the different creations in the illustrations throughout the Bible. Aside from the pictures of the building block creations this is just a regular NIrV Bible.
You can purchase the Faith Builders Bible from Zonderkidz for $24.99.
Click on the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about the Faith Builders Bible.
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