THE LION BABY BIBLE
A treasured first Bible to share with 0-2 year olds, introducing 45 stories and simple messages of God's love from the Old and New Testaments.
Written and illustrated by Antonia Woodward
Published by Lion Cub books
The Lion Baby Bible introduces 45 stories from the Old and New Testaments. Each story is simply and beautifully retold in a few words with a Biblical truth about God's love for the world and our special relationship as his children.
"I read a lot of Christian children's resources, and they're usually pretty good. But every once in a while I come across something extra-special… Some of the language brought a tear to my eye in how its simplicity contained such deep theological riches. Absolutely wonderful."
LUCY RYCROFT
Author of Busy Family Devotional and founder of thehopefilledfamily.com
How did I go about writing these?
I first started writing these "retellings" when my littlest was 3. A lot of care, thought, and prayer went into thinking about and crafting these stories to be suitable for the very youngest children. Bible stories are not like typical children's stories in that they are almost entirely about adults, and often covering subjects that are not really suitable for small ears to hear!
Then why do we tell children these stories? What do we want them to learn and understand?
At the very beginning of writing these I had my oldest daughter in mind. She is a girl who likes to know WHY and HOW and all the other words that a good detective should be asking. So my approach to the stories was not just "this is good story to tell", but WHY are we telling this story? What essential truth about God do we want our children to learn from the reading of this?
When babies first begin eating solid food, we wouldn't give them a huge chunk of raw carrot to begin with! We would chop it up, cook it, maybe mash it. We break it down into a manageable size and texture that their little mouths can handle.
And this baby bible is their first taste of Bible food! Each story has been chopped down into smaller, softer chunks that introduce the themes and truths of the the original bible story, and hopefully summarise the essence of what we want them to begin to learn - the love of God, his care for the world and the people that live in it.
How can I read it with my children?
Many of these bible stories have opposites, counting, or questions directed at the child to help make this an engaging read. So wave at the characters, say hello to them and point out the details that you think your child will enjoy noticing. Count the animals, or the flowers. How many different types of bird or sea creature can you see? Check I've included the correct number of disciples! (12!) I really hope your little person will love looking at the pictures as much as I loved making them.
And if you love this bible please consider leaving me a review on the website you bought it from, it really helps others to find it online!
When will they grown out of this baby bible?
The wonderful thing about God's stories is that the truths we learn from them never grow old. One day your child will need a fuller retelling than this is able to give! My lovely littlest wanted to read the bible with me when it was first published, and at six years old she's definitely needing more. However, the very basic story was a good starting point for a discussion about the stories we read, and we were able to chat for a little while about what else happened in the story and what we could learn from it. There is always the opportunity to learn, even as they grow.
Take a peek at some very early cover sketches!
Can you spot the earliest incarnation of the final design? It was decided that the Noah's Ark design would be the most recognisable image worldwide to symbolise a children's bible so this was the one the publisher chose.
Unboxing video!
I was very excited but enormously camera shy when unboxing this!! So I enlisted my two lovely girls and my two lovely nieces to help me make a video for sharing online.
The music on this video is Beautiful World by Paul Zach
BOOKS
Click for more pics, behind the scenes, and where to buy!