“Mom, today when we were learning about the Eiffel tower…”

“Wait,” I stopped my son mid sentence, an amused smile spread across my face. “Not the Eiffel Tower, right? The Tower of…..”

“Tower of Baptist!” His younger brother proclaimed, full of pride.

“No, not quite” I laughed.

“The Tower of Babel!” he corrected himself.

“Yes!”

It’s an incredible thing, and at times incredibly entertaining, to watch our kids learn about the Bible. Yet over the past year I have found myself in this middle ground, not knowing which direction to send my oldest. He’s grown old for the Bible story books of his younger years. I found myself scouring the internet and asking across social media, what kind of kid’s Bible might he be ready for? As he’s entering into this amazing new realm of reading for himself, I wanted to equip him with a step above the simplified (although beautiful) Bible story books, and to place into his hands the actual Word of God. Prospects either felt too gimmicky – not quite holding the reverence of God’s Word, or too complicated for my new reader. I wanted a bridge Bible — a welcome invitation for him to explore God’s Word in a deeper, non intimidating manner.

My search ended and my prayers were answered when an email popped into my inbox. As a member of the BibleGateway Bloggers Grid, I received an invitation to be sent a copy of Zondervan’s new NIrV Illustrated Holy Bible for Kids, in trade for an honest review. And my honest review is this: it’s an answer to my prayers.

For real, I’m not just over here gushing about this Bible because they gave me a free copy. It truly is exactly what I have been looking for, and the best Bible I have come across for early readers.

The day after we received this Bible, my son told me he had read it cover to cover, and in fact he had! He flipped through every single page to find the illustrations, which are one of my favorite attributes of this Bible. The illustrations anchor the stories, helping my boys (ages 4, 6, and 8) to find the stories they are already familiar with, and to navigate the Bible on their own. The illustrations are not only pretty, they’re carefully thought out to convey the intent of the Scriptures. Underneath each picture is an easy-to-read caption that gives more context to the story and text. They invite children deeper into the story, and to the very heart of God.

Another thing I love about this Bible is that it is designed to help children read the Bible as a continuous story. It has chapter headings, but no chapter or verse numbers. Right now, in this delicate and vulnerable phase of learning to read, it helps my son to find what he’s looking for by searching through pictures and titles, rather than muddying the text in numbers. Later, when he’s ready, we’ll teach him how to navigate by the verse number system. Right now, I want him immersed in the breathtaking story of Scripture. That’s just what this Bible has put into motion, and I couldn’t be more grateful to watch it unfold as my boy picks up the Word of God, and makes his faith his own.

Thank you to Zondervan and BibleGateway for a complimentary copy of the NIrV Illustrated Holy Bible for Kids in exchange for an honest review.