Let the Children Come to Me
Lesser-known Christian Resources for Kids
We buy a lot of Christian kids books. Some are great, some are ok, (and some are bad and we get rid of those!) but in my opinion its better to have more than less. What ends up happening is they become scattered all over the house. And in our home, the kids usually love to grab a book and climb in a chair and, depending on their age, read the book or look at the pictures. So, in a world that floods everyone with images and messaging, I find its better to have lots of good, true, and beautiful content lying around our home, especially good content for children who are in such formative years.
We love the series Tales that Tell the Truth (our personal favorite is The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross), the series Good News for Little Hearts, and the books in the series Every Child Should Know (by 10publishing, we’re currently reading Bible Stories Every Child Should Know). I love the Action Bible because of the plethora of phenomenal images depicting the Bible stories (though, there is a chapter on Maccabees in this “Bible”); we have both volumes of Bible Infographics and the Radical books because most kids love stats; we’ve used bible-study workbooks like Exploring the Bible; read novels such as the Tree Street Kids; we also love board books such as Big Theology for Little Hearts and have enjoyed reading the ICB (International Children’s Bible) version of the Bible (though we got the simple Bible and avoided potentially dangerous editions like the Jesus Calling ICB). This Bible translation was made like any other Bible translation—with a committee working from the Greek and Hebrew—except their goal was to use vocabulary suited to an 8–12 year old and translate into shorter sentences.
Most Christian families are likely familiar with the above resources. In this short post I want to share five lesser known books and three non-book resources that we love.
Golly’s Folly
Golly’s Folly is published by Patrol. It is uniquely and beautifully illustrated and it is a rhyming story from the book of Ecclesiastes. Golly is the prince who wanted it all and he, like Solomon in Ecclesiastes, tries to find joy and meaning in life through lots of fruitless endeavors before finally finding that true satisfaction comes only from God. This is an excellently designed and written book. But we especially love it because it is about a specific book of the Bible. Kids books generally don’t focus on one book of the Bible but present themes or topics from the Bible or a collection of Bible stories. It is rare you find a kids book written about a specific book of the Bible.
Meet Jesus in Mark
Meet Jesus in Mark is a retelling for kids of the entire gospel of Mark published by Christian Focus. It is a fully illustrated book but it is also a direct translation by the author from the Greek text of Mark for kids. Again, it is unique to find a kids book that focuses on one book of the Bible. This one is even more unique because it is the entire book of Mark translated from the Greek for kids. So, in many ways, it is God’s Word as much as another translation (like the ESV or the NIV) is. And faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Specifically also, the book never illustrates Jesus. Thus, the reader realizes that you “Meet Jesus in Mark” not through images but through the text of Scripture. Highly recommended!
Paul’s Big Letter and Paul’s Helpful Letter
Paul’s Big Letter: A Kid-Friendly Journey Through Romans and Paul’s Helpful Letter: A Kid-Friendly Journey Through First Corinthians are published by Hesed and Emet publishing. Each chapter of the book covers a chapter of the biblical text. These are not illustrated kids books but contain black and white text inside, and the target age is more for 8–12 year olds. They function somewhat like a kids-commentary (another cool concept!) in that the child reads the chapter in the Bible and then reads the chapter in the book which explains, in kid-friendly ways, what the chapter was about. The readings are short, each around 3–5 pages per chapter of biblical text. These book are not workbooks but simply “kids commentaries” on the text of Romans and 1 Corinthians.
Jesus is All You Need
Jesus is All You Need: A Study in Colossians is an independently published book available on Amazon. It is similar to the two books above in that they are a study on a specific book of the Bible for kids aged 8–12. The difference is that, Jesus is All You Need is more of a workbook and includes colored graphics (such as maps showing where Colossae is) making it more interactive than the above books. This could be completed independently or with a parent. A selection of text is read and then the corresponding section of the workbook is completed. I like the workbook style because the questions prompt more reflection and can lead to good discussion with your kid.
REAP Journal
The Kids REAP Journal, published by the church Austin Stone, is a journal that teaches kids the REAP method of study, namely Read, Examine, Apply, Pray. It is a hardback, spiral-bound workbook with color interior that is great for 8–12 year olds. Again, as above, the workbook format allows kids to actually think (Examine and Apply) about what they have read. This can be done independently, but it is fruitful to follow up with your kid and discuss what they are learning.
Christ at the Center
Tiny Theologians seems to be making some great resources for families. We’ve enjoyed their card deck Christ at the Center which feature every book of the Bible (which is very helpful for kids to learn) but also explains how Christ is at the center of the biblical story.
Creation to Revelation
Creation to Revelation also make a ton of Christian resources for kids. What I love about Creation of Revelation is their breadth and depth. So, for example, we love their magnets 17 Time Periods as they help the kids learn the overarching structure to the story line of Scripture. We also love their card deck Generations which is 500 flashcards of characters from the Bible with stats about each character on the back (I told you they had depth!). Our kids will get all 500 cards out and play, honestly for hours at a time, reading about the characters; but also our boys will make “teams” to see who can make the best team (they fight over who gets Samson). These simple resources are great at giving kids the rudimentary “grammar” they need to engage Scripture, giving them the details of the characters and the overarching story.
Baptist Catechism Set to Music
Jim Orrick has produced a 2-volume CD that covers the entire baptism catechism. Everyone knows it is easier to memorize something if it is put to song. We keep this CD in the car and play it regularly on trips. Its amazing how the catechism sticks in your brain through music and repetition. We have then been able to recall and repeat a specific catechism to each other around our home if we are discussing a particular doctrine with ours kids.
It seems that there are more Christian resources for kids than ever these days. This is a welcome thing. It also means we should be cautious as not everything will be good—I just saw a “christian” book for kids affirming queer ideology from a publisher that we had bought a book from in the past. Christian families, as they are able, should flood their homes with flashcards, magnets, and biblical, gospel-centered Christian books of all types and topics for their kids to avail themselves of as we prayerfully parent desiring the Spirit to open their eyes and grow them in the faith.
Great list! I haven't seen many of these and we're always looking for stuff for the kids. It's also exceedingly hard to find kids' resources that don't include images of Christ so that one on Mark in particular is one I'll be ordering ASAP.