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Children's Bibles, or Bibles for children, are often collections of Bible stories rather than actual translations of the Bible aimed at children.[1] These adaptations of the Bible are written to be more understandable and entertaining for younger audiences.[2]
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There is a range of simplicity across various children's Bible publications. More image focused variations, often made for children ages 3-6, rely less on words to convey a message and prominently feature drawings and artistic interpretations of the Bible. While some publications quote directly from the Bible, others utilize paraphrasing. All of these different publications are created with the purpose of appealing to a variety of different audiences with regards to age and level of comprehension.
As of 2024, the Bible has been written in 756 languages.[3] Within the English language alone, there are many different translations of the Bible, including the New Living Translation, King James Version, New International Version, and many more. These texts appeal to an older audience, most commonly from the 7-12th grade reading level.[4] There are certain versions of the Bible that have been released that present the content in a more digestible way, such as the ICB (International Children's Bible) version.[5] Children's Bibles, however, are set apart in that they are not direct translations of the Bible, but are rather simplistic and take more of a storytelling approach, most commonly alongside the use of images.
First printed in London in 1759, The Children's Bible was the earliest Bible for children printed in America.[6] While this may have been the first official text published, the simple, narrative style seen in children's Bibles today dates back to the work of Peter Comestor in the late twelfth century: Historia Scholastica.[7] This work shows lots of similarities with Bibles for children today in that it presents the Bible through stories and also includes non biblical material.
There have been lots more publications of different Bibles for children since The Children's Bible was published in 1759.[6] In 1934 Lenore Cohen's work: Bible Tales for Very Young Children was published by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.[7] This novel became a staple in the curriculum for different religious institutions internationally.
One of the more recent, popular publications of children's Bibles is The Beginner's Bible published in 1989 by Zonderkidz and written by Karyn Henley. Since its publication, 25 million copies have been sold.[8] This work features lots of illustrations and is aimed for an audience of kids under the age of 6 and retells over 90 Bible stories. It was awarded the 2006 Retailers Choice Award Winner in Children's Nonfiction.[8]
Another recent publication is the Adventure Bible Storybook written by Catherine DeVries and illustrated by Jim Madsen.[9] This work was published by Zonderkiz in 2009 and has sold over 9 million copies.[10]
One of the newer publications of children's Bibles is called The Action Bible and was first published in 2010.[11] This work features a retelling of hundreds of stories from the Bible, but in the form of a comic, with lots of graphics and Scripture retold in the form of thought bubbles for the different characters. The illustrator for this work is Sergio Cariello.[11] This children's Bible has been translated into 83 different languages, and over 3.5 million copies have been sold.[11]
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