Once Upon a Time Holy Bible and Storybook Bible Review

With three young girls in the house, you would probably be able to guess that we are big fans of Disney princesses. It's not just the princesses that captivate the children though. Even five year old Harold loves Disney stories. So, when we were offered the opportunity to review two new Bibles (one of which is a Bible Storybook) that captures the style of these precious fairy tales, we jumped at the chance. We received the new NIrV (New International Readers Version)  of the Once Upon a Time Holy Bible from Zonderkidz, along with the Once Upon a Time Storybook Bible.

A little about these books:

• With the popularity of fairy tales and Disney animation, Zonderkidz wanted to publish a storybook Bible and full-text Bible that would resonate with children and families who loved those types of movies, and loved reading a great story. 
• The art will captivate Disney lovers with similar looking characters and color palettes. 
• Zonderkidz wanted to capture fans of this genre, but introduce young children to the word of God, and introduce them to the great characters of the Bible. 

The Holy Bible is a hardcover book that contains the full text of the New International Readers Version of the Bible. It also includes a Presentation page and information about the NIrV in the front of the Bible, plus a dictionary and a list of Great Bible Stories in the back. Spread throughout the Bible are a selection of highlighted stories that are illustrated in full color. They are each four pages in length. They include:

• God Makes Man and Woman (from Genesis 2:7-27)
• Isaac and Rebekah (from Genesis 24)
• Ruth Finds Happiness (from the Book of Ruth)
• Queen Esther (from the Book of Esther)
• A Visit From an Angel (from Luke 1; Matthew 1)
• He Lives! (from Matthew 27-28, John 20)

The Storybook Bible contains 18 Old Testament stories and 15 New Testament stories. The stories are well known Bible stories, ones that tend to get highlighted in children's Bible Storybooks. Such as Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lions, the birth of Jesus, Jesus baptism, Zacchaeus, Jesus death and resurrection and many more. 

Each story starts with a page of text that is surrounded by a colorful frame. The opposite page contains a lovely illustration. A Bible verse is shared and then the story which spans four pages. The third and fourth pages have only half a page of text, along with more eye catching illustrations. Each story begins with "Once Upon a Time. . ." and ends with a "Happily Ever After" which gives a little conclusion to the story, along with the reference for where you will find the story in the Bible. 

I admit, I was hesitant at first because of the emphasis on "Once upon a time" in relation to the Bible. I did not want my children to think of the Bible as another fairy tale. But the books make it clear on the cover that "The Bible is not a fairy tale. Every great story happened once upon a time." It also emphasises that the Bible is the ultimate "Happily Ever After" story. 

Children love stories that contain adventure and heroes. So I think presenting the Bible as a story full of great adventures is a wonderful idea. And more importantly, each "Happily Ever After" box emphasises God's role in these stories. 

The Holy Bible comes in hardcover version, like we received, and leathersoft pink. I do wish they had a leathersoft blue as well. It almost feels as if the publisher is marketing it more toward girls, and yet the stories in the Bible are adventures that are for all, boys and girls. In fact, while my daughter is the one who ended up with the Holy Bible, little Harold is the one who was given the Bible Storybook, and he loves it.

Both of these books have been great additions to our household. Hannah is enjoying having her own Bible that is both easy-to-read and easy-to-understand. I do admit however, that I thought it would be just a bit nicer if the font was slightly bigger, especially because this book is geared toward younger readers. The font in the Storybook Bible is great though. No concerns there. 

You can purchase the Once Upon a Time NIrV for $24.99, it is available where books are sold.

You can purchase the Once Upon a Time Storybook Bible for $16.99, it is available at Sam's Club or wherever books are sold.

Disclosure: I received both a hardcover copy of  the Once Upon a Time NIrV Holy Bible and a hardcover copy of the Once Upon a Time Storybook Bible in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.