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The Picture Bible
For years, The Picture Bible has delighted young and old. Now updated with interesting new features, including "Did you know?" fact pages, time line, story listing, maps, and more, kids will love the great stories and action pictures of the newly revised Picture Bible. God's Word will come alive for hours of family reading enjoyment. Newly designed with a fresh cover, text, and maps, this Scripture makes an ideal first Bible for young readers. Though the full text for 233 stories is provided, children can follow the colorful pictures and storyline without having to read every word. A perennial best-seller, The Picture Bible is loved by young and old, and has proved to be an excellent way to improve children's reading skills.
800 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1920
34 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 8, 2008
A great bible for boys. My eight year old read this over the course of a month or so each night before he went to bed. It is a comic book-style bible but it is not cartoonish at all and it is very solidly written, though it is not Catholic. John Paul learned very much about the Old Testament, especially, from reading this bible. Good choice for active boys!!
March 19, 2018
The Picture Bible is The Holy Bible done in graphic novel format and done remarkably well. The text covers the majority of The Bible from Genesis to Revelations – not word for word, but you get a general idea or overview of the text – the spirit of The Bible you can say. The Minor Prophets, epistles and the heavily metaphoric Revelations were mentioned in passing, but more importantly they were mentioned. Iva Hoth should be commended for writing a faithful and compelling text that stood the test of time.
The art was done rather well, nothing spectacular or super-realistic, but not overly simplified or cartoonish either – it was the perfect mix. The art was consistent enough throughout the book and done well to keep the attention of their target audience. My godson, who I read this with, wouldn't want to put it down and go to sleep and tried to stay up to continue reading it. André Le Blanc should be commended for bringing the characters alive with his art, which was beautifully rendered and very vibrant.
Although the target audience is for young children, boys in particular, I found myself loving it just as much. I also think that it's very helpful to those who are visual learners of any age. While attempting to read the Bible could be intimidating, The Picture Bible seems less so, despite its 800-page length. It's also a great stepping stone or jumping off point into making children want to read The Bible.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading The Picture Bible – it was an ambitious project trying to illustrate the entire Bible and to bring it to life and I think that it was a great success! I would recommend it to anyone with or without young children or just a child at heart.
The art was done rather well, nothing spectacular or super-realistic, but not overly simplified or cartoonish either – it was the perfect mix. The art was consistent enough throughout the book and done well to keep the attention of their target audience. My godson, who I read this with, wouldn't want to put it down and go to sleep and tried to stay up to continue reading it. André Le Blanc should be commended for bringing the characters alive with his art, which was beautifully rendered and very vibrant.
Although the target audience is for young children, boys in particular, I found myself loving it just as much. I also think that it's very helpful to those who are visual learners of any age. While attempting to read the Bible could be intimidating, The Picture Bible seems less so, despite its 800-page length. It's also a great stepping stone or jumping off point into making children want to read The Bible.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading The Picture Bible – it was an ambitious project trying to illustrate the entire Bible and to bring it to life and I think that it was a great success! I would recommend it to anyone with or without young children or just a child at heart.
October 6, 2012
This was my second Bible. The first was the Beginners Bible, but by age 6 I had read all of it, so I wanted a new one. At Christmas, My parents surprised me with the Picture Bible. At first, I didn't like the comic book format, but soon I got used to it. By the time I was 10, I had worn it out, with me needing a new one again. This Bible is one of the greatest ways to get a young one to read God's word. It has LOTS of action, dramatic drawings, and little articles in between chapters that let your young one learn a little extra that most kids Bibles may not explain. I like the fact that not only does it show the main stories (Like David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, and the crucifixion.) It shows the minor prophets, and some of the Epistles as well. If you want your kid to have a deep understanding of the Bible, this is a great place to start.
August 2, 2016
Even though this graphic novel version of the bible was meant for kids, I loved it all the same. My mind tends to wander while I attempt to read the King James Version, so this was a fun alternative for me. It goes in depth in all the stories, tells them in modern dialect, and has amazing illustrations!
June 14, 2017
As a young boy, this comic-book version of the Bible was my favorite, and I still have my copy. The book is heavy on the Old Testament stories, which do indeed work better for a dramatic, illustrated work. David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion's Den, Samson, Moses, Joshua, Joseph, Adam & Eve - they're all here, illustrated. It's a lot of fun to read, and as a kid, it helped bring these stories to life.
May 21, 2024
This book has a nice Biblical overview. I especially enjoyed how Paul's missionary journeys were described.
December 9, 2009
I finally read the bible, cover-to-cover.
1970s comic book version of the bible, 800 pages of cheezy goodness. I bought this while doing an alternative spring break after Hurricane Katrina. Started reading it the day I moved into my seminary apartment, before classes even began. And now, two and a half years later, I have finished it.
1970s comic book version of the bible, 800 pages of cheezy goodness. I bought this while doing an alternative spring break after Hurricane Katrina. Started reading it the day I moved into my seminary apartment, before classes even began. And now, two and a half years later, I have finished it.
October 11, 2020
The Bible is billed as, “The world’s most awesome story ever.” While that designation unquestionably belongs to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, I figured that it was about time to strip down to my skivvies and dive into arguably the most important and influential book ever written, to see what all the fuss was about.
Having said that, the Bible is like 10,000 pages long with a font so tiny that you need a magnifying glass to read it. Any book over 250 pages sounds like a chore to a person of my academic level, so there was no fucking way in Hell that I was actually gonna read the real deal.
Thank God for The Picture Bible by Iva Hoth, with illustrations by Andre LeBlanc. It’s, “God’s Word brought to life in pictures.” Many thanks to Mrs. Hoth for not only boiling the Bible down to a digestible 795 comic book pages, but also for dumbing it down. It was a breeze and delight to get through!
Now while the Bible is not a comedy, I actually laughed out loud an impressive 9 times.
Right off the bat, Mrs. Hoth included the following on a special ‘Did You Know’ page about the Flood and Noah’s Ark:
“Only eight people—Noah and his family—are saved … in the whole world!”
While this wasn’t one of my 9 LOL’s, I found it kinda funny that Noah and his seven family members repopulated the entire world. Clearly, the rampant incest that ensued finally explains to me why no less than half of the population is irretrievably retarded.
But this next bit between brothers Jacob and Esau did make me laugh out loud.
Esau comes home hungry. “I’m starved… Give me some stew.”
Jacob: “Will you trade your birthright for it?”
Esau: “Give you the right to rule our tribe someday? Sure. You can have it!”
Jacob: “Here is the soup.”
This next bit also made me laugh out loud and drives home a theme of the Bible that really struck a chord with me: People are idiots.
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezar: “I had a strange dream, but I have forgotten it. Tell me what it was and what it means.”
Adviser: “We can tell you what a dream means, sir, but no man can tell you what you dreamed.”
King Nebuchadnezar: “What good are advisers if they can’t tell me what I want to know? Put these men to death—And every wise man in my kingdom!”
God bless you, King Nebuchadnezar!
So while the Bible is not a comedy, or even a story, what it seems to be is a historical account of Jewish history in the first half (Old Testament), then the life, death, and resurrection of Christ and the early spread of Christianity in the second half (New Testament) --> with lots of fake news (i.e. divine punishments and miracles) weaved in to get people to buy into the religion via fear and awe.
Apparently, that’s been pretty effective. It seems pretty obvious and scamy to me, but I guess its popularity ballooned before there were things like science, and later generations have just been cool with believing what their parents tell them to. Good kids, them.
But frankly, if the Bible were fact, if it were Truth, we’d have some serious reckoning to do concerning the Holocaust. Either God is the Biggest Asshole in the Universe for letting it happen, or the Jews did some serious disobeying of Him in the early 1930s. Because in the Bible, whenever something bad happened to the Jews, like the burning of Jerusalem, it was because they had disobeyed God, usually by worshiping idols (i.e. other Gods like Baal). They had always brought God’s punishment on themselves. So if that is true, what in God’s name did they do to suffer the Holocaust? Were they worshipping Ganesh or Greta Garbo or something?!
Anyhoo, while we’ve established that the Bible is not a comedy, it can be interpreted as a parody of people. As mentioned above, a main theme is that humans are idiots, and in the Bible, God does not go easy on us. He lampoons the hell out us. No matter how many times He tells His chosen ones to obey His laws, they continuously disobey Him by worshiping golden calves and the like. And even when God or Jesus specifically tells them that they are going to disobey or deny Him, they refuse to believe it, swear that they won’t, and yet still wind up doing it. There’s just no explanation other than utter retardation. People are dumb. So so dumb.
To sum up, The Picture Bible delivers a surprising amount of LOL’s while skewering us dim-witted humans. And because it summarizes arguably the most important, most influential book in the world, while offering the same enjoyable reading experience as Marmaduke, I highly recommend it to everyone. 4 stars.
Lastly, while it seems to me that religions have caused more harm in this world than good, I have nothing but love and admiration for The Golden Rule. That one simple sentence is all the religion any of us need. What a wonderful world it would be if we all followed it.
Bonus Quote (Anyone who’s been to church or temple as a kid can certainly relate to this): “After weeks of travel and visiting churches along the way, Paul reaches Troas. He has so much to tell the people that he talks far into the night. Overcome by sleep, a young man falls out of a third story window.”
For more reviews, check out The Comedic Novel Review at www.pearlsbeforeswine68.com which is also home to the Great White Host Blog.
Having said that, the Bible is like 10,000 pages long with a font so tiny that you need a magnifying glass to read it. Any book over 250 pages sounds like a chore to a person of my academic level, so there was no fucking way in Hell that I was actually gonna read the real deal.
Thank God for The Picture Bible by Iva Hoth, with illustrations by Andre LeBlanc. It’s, “God’s Word brought to life in pictures.” Many thanks to Mrs. Hoth for not only boiling the Bible down to a digestible 795 comic book pages, but also for dumbing it down. It was a breeze and delight to get through!
Now while the Bible is not a comedy, I actually laughed out loud an impressive 9 times.
Right off the bat, Mrs. Hoth included the following on a special ‘Did You Know’ page about the Flood and Noah’s Ark:
“Only eight people—Noah and his family—are saved … in the whole world!”
While this wasn’t one of my 9 LOL’s, I found it kinda funny that Noah and his seven family members repopulated the entire world. Clearly, the rampant incest that ensued finally explains to me why no less than half of the population is irretrievably retarded.
But this next bit between brothers Jacob and Esau did make me laugh out loud.
Esau comes home hungry. “I’m starved… Give me some stew.”
Jacob: “Will you trade your birthright for it?”
Esau: “Give you the right to rule our tribe someday? Sure. You can have it!”
Jacob: “Here is the soup.”
This next bit also made me laugh out loud and drives home a theme of the Bible that really struck a chord with me: People are idiots.
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezar: “I had a strange dream, but I have forgotten it. Tell me what it was and what it means.”
Adviser: “We can tell you what a dream means, sir, but no man can tell you what you dreamed.”
King Nebuchadnezar: “What good are advisers if they can’t tell me what I want to know? Put these men to death—And every wise man in my kingdom!”
God bless you, King Nebuchadnezar!
So while the Bible is not a comedy, or even a story, what it seems to be is a historical account of Jewish history in the first half (Old Testament), then the life, death, and resurrection of Christ and the early spread of Christianity in the second half (New Testament) --> with lots of fake news (i.e. divine punishments and miracles) weaved in to get people to buy into the religion via fear and awe.
Apparently, that’s been pretty effective. It seems pretty obvious and scamy to me, but I guess its popularity ballooned before there were things like science, and later generations have just been cool with believing what their parents tell them to. Good kids, them.
But frankly, if the Bible were fact, if it were Truth, we’d have some serious reckoning to do concerning the Holocaust. Either God is the Biggest Asshole in the Universe for letting it happen, or the Jews did some serious disobeying of Him in the early 1930s. Because in the Bible, whenever something bad happened to the Jews, like the burning of Jerusalem, it was because they had disobeyed God, usually by worshiping idols (i.e. other Gods like Baal). They had always brought God’s punishment on themselves. So if that is true, what in God’s name did they do to suffer the Holocaust? Were they worshipping Ganesh or Greta Garbo or something?!
Anyhoo, while we’ve established that the Bible is not a comedy, it can be interpreted as a parody of people. As mentioned above, a main theme is that humans are idiots, and in the Bible, God does not go easy on us. He lampoons the hell out us. No matter how many times He tells His chosen ones to obey His laws, they continuously disobey Him by worshiping golden calves and the like. And even when God or Jesus specifically tells them that they are going to disobey or deny Him, they refuse to believe it, swear that they won’t, and yet still wind up doing it. There’s just no explanation other than utter retardation. People are dumb. So so dumb.
To sum up, The Picture Bible delivers a surprising amount of LOL’s while skewering us dim-witted humans. And because it summarizes arguably the most important, most influential book in the world, while offering the same enjoyable reading experience as Marmaduke, I highly recommend it to everyone. 4 stars.
Lastly, while it seems to me that religions have caused more harm in this world than good, I have nothing but love and admiration for The Golden Rule. That one simple sentence is all the religion any of us need. What a wonderful world it would be if we all followed it.
Bonus Quote (Anyone who’s been to church or temple as a kid can certainly relate to this): “After weeks of travel and visiting churches along the way, Paul reaches Troas. He has so much to tell the people that he talks far into the night. Overcome by sleep, a young man falls out of a third story window.”
For more reviews, check out The Comedic Novel Review at www.pearlsbeforeswine68.com which is also home to the Great White Host Blog.
August 5, 2011
This book is not just for kids, if you're a visual learner like me this bible helps a ton. It's good way to remember all those little facts and stories and the order of them and the pages just look cool.
January 30, 2018
So pleased to have read a version of the bible that I can mostly understand. I feel as though I’ve watched the movie and now I will be able to read the actual bible and understand so much more about why and where and when it was written.
A great achievement from both authors, writer and illustrator; to fashion the stories into vivid tales using clever segues of script and inserting facts about the time as well as giving each major character notable features of dress and a lot more besides.
I was absolutely gripped and very interested to see how much the Old Testament was like Game of Thrones!
A great achievement from both authors, writer and illustrator; to fashion the stories into vivid tales using clever segues of script and inserting facts about the time as well as giving each major character notable features of dress and a lot more besides.
I was absolutely gripped and very interested to see how much the Old Testament was like Game of Thrones!
January 30, 2025
Every adult could appreciate this! I have read the Holy Bible dozens of times, yet this graphic version of it put together a chronology that truly made me remark upon historical events with awe and wonder. It helped me see the forest *and* the trees, not missing either for the other. I especially appreciated Hebrew Scripture events as well as Paul’s missionary journey. Also I never realized both James and Jude were Jesus’ brothers!
October 14, 2025
The Picture Bible depicts both the Old and New Testaments in a comic format. It's better for me, as I can have a limited imagination sometimes, and it's easier for me to see what the people look like. The ending of the book talks about life in Bible times and has an index for some searching, although it doesn't categorize names.
December 31, 2017
The Bible narrative is told with pictures that should appeal to readers. I appreciated the condensed method of a single version of the history. I really enjoyed this end of the year read of the Bible.
July 8, 2020
The pictures are great, and the summary is pretty good. But everybody sure looks white.
February 20, 2021
My son read this from cover to cover as a tween...great version for kids;especially reluctant readers :)
Read
January 23, 2022Read aloud with Olivet and Sophia
March 6, 2022
The best 💯👍
February 12, 2023
4 star because it did not include the full book of micah. Other than that it's a good adaptation of the bible.
March 22, 2024
I just love this book! I've read this book many many times I recommend it.
January 28, 2025
Wow… seriously good graphic novel of the entire old and new testament books
Puts a lot of the stories away from complex prose and boils it down to simple comprehension
Recommend
Puts a lot of the stories away from complex prose and boils it down to simple comprehension
Recommend
June 30, 2025
An easy way to refresh my memory about half forgotten Bible stories-quick and colourful
April 27, 2023
Honestly I didn't think much about this little (but thick) book when I read it countless times in the past. But I come to realise how I always have key images as flashbacks whenever someone mentions a verse.
This of course cannot be a replacement for anything, much less an actual full-size Bible, but has nonetheless served as a biblical reference even in my younger days. How so? So much so that as I reflect back now, it low-key prevented me from dropping fully into the prosperity gospel!
Im not even kidding. This really shows that a strong fundamental foundation is important (but cant ensure that one remains in proper teachings or faith) in reducing the chance that one might be duped or be tickled by nice sounding honeyed doctrines.
This book doesnt have the full NTestament as it barely skim through Acts. Much of the Epistles and Hebrews + Revelation is untouched for various reasons but understandly so. A good contender for Book of the year for your kids!
This of course cannot be a replacement for anything, much less an actual full-size Bible, but has nonetheless served as a biblical reference even in my younger days. How so? So much so that as I reflect back now, it low-key prevented me from dropping fully into the prosperity gospel!
Im not even kidding. This really shows that a strong fundamental foundation is important (but cant ensure that one remains in proper teachings or faith) in reducing the chance that one might be duped or be tickled by nice sounding honeyed doctrines.
This book doesnt have the full NTestament as it barely skim through Acts. Much of the Epistles and Hebrews + Revelation is untouched for various reasons but understandly so. A good contender for Book of the year for your kids!
May 15, 2022
I can't say how many times I read this through as a child. I remember being introduced to it through weekly snippets that were part of our Sunday School papers we'd get every week at church, called Pix. This really made the Bible come alive to me in a visual way that made me excited to read it at a time in my life when wading through the plain text was difficult. It is quite faithful to scripture and the illustrations are not cartoonish in the least, rather they follow a more classical-style (think Hal Foster's Prince Valiant). Andre LeBlanc is a master, imo.
As an aside, it was interesting to me to visit the British Museum and learn that many of the pieces of armor of the various ancient near eastern peoples were nearly just as depicted by LeBlanc in the Picture Bible.
Highly recommend for children.
As an aside, it was interesting to me to visit the British Museum and learn that many of the pieces of armor of the various ancient near eastern peoples were nearly just as depicted by LeBlanc in the Picture Bible.
Highly recommend for children.
March 16, 2013
My dad gave me this book a few years ago, it had been given to him as a little kid by his godparents. I didn't really even know what it was for a couple years, but then one day I picked it up and got hooked in. I ended up reading it within two days as a twelve-year-old and I've read it cover-to-cover three more times since then. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because it makes the bible stories so interesting and easy to understand for young kids or adults because it isn't cheesy or preachy or anything either. I thought it was a fantastic idea to put all the bible stories into comic form, and although it might seem a little daunting being so thick, it is easy and interesting to read and anyone should be able to finish it within at most a week.
March 11, 2014
Age Range: 4 - 8
This is the Bible as a graphic novel, with text and drawings done in a comic-book style. The retellings are done in a story-friendly format to make them understandable, and include a reference to the Biblical scripture they are told from. It would be a good family activity to read the text from the Bible and compare it to “The Picture Bible” retelling to see what has been added to. The author does take some poetic license to fill in the blanks (Lot’s wife has a thought bubble that says “I don’t care what God says – I want to go back!” right before she is turned into a pillar of salt). The people pictured are mostly pale-skinned. When I have used this Bible to teach from, the kids have been very interested in it!
This is the Bible as a graphic novel, with text and drawings done in a comic-book style. The retellings are done in a story-friendly format to make them understandable, and include a reference to the Biblical scripture they are told from. It would be a good family activity to read the text from the Bible and compare it to “The Picture Bible” retelling to see what has been added to. The author does take some poetic license to fill in the blanks (Lot’s wife has a thought bubble that says “I don’t care what God says – I want to go back!” right before she is turned into a pillar of salt). The people pictured are mostly pale-skinned. When I have used this Bible to teach from, the kids have been very interested in it!
February 12, 2014
6 stars
this is one of the books that made the Bible understandable to me. moreso than Narnia or Calvin Miller's Singer trilogy or Thomas Merton this is the book that Showed me what the Bible looks like.
when my Mom went through BSF this was what she used along w/Miss Johnson's notes and the Bible.
i've read or tried to read and use a half dozen of the comic book Bibles in print. this is the only one that holds up. anyone older than five can read and learn from it and unlike the others an adult can still use and learn from it.
this is one of the books that made the Bible understandable to me. moreso than Narnia or Calvin Miller's Singer trilogy or Thomas Merton this is the book that Showed me what the Bible looks like.
when my Mom went through BSF this was what she used along w/Miss Johnson's notes and the Bible.
i've read or tried to read and use a half dozen of the comic book Bibles in print. this is the only one that holds up. anyone older than five can read and learn from it and unlike the others an adult can still use and learn from it.
February 20, 2016
In 1980, I bought The Picture Bible to read to the children for pre-bedtime stories.
Going thru my colletion of old books I saved to read in the future, I came across The Picture Bible.
The illustrations are good.
Easy for children to identify the characters throughout as they wear the same color clothing.
(Made me wonder when they ever wash or mended their robes.)
A quick read and mini review of the Bible (think Cliff's Notes).
A refresher course without the deep thinking.
(Pairs well with hot chocolate on those snowy days when you don't have to go out.)
Going thru my colletion of old books I saved to read in the future, I came across The Picture Bible.
The illustrations are good.
Easy for children to identify the characters throughout as they wear the same color clothing.
(Made me wonder when they ever wash or mended their robes.)
A quick read and mini review of the Bible (think Cliff's Notes).
A refresher course without the deep thinking.
(Pairs well with hot chocolate on those snowy days when you don't have to go out.)
August 9, 2008
I have to say that I loved this bible as a kid, and I even love it today. You can tell I've put it through a lot, cause it's missing the front cover and the first page is nearly ripped off. I don't know if I would have been as interested in reading a "normal" bible if I was a kid, so this is a great way to learn the stories the bible tells, while keeping kids interested and excited. I would recommend it to all parents wanting to educate their kids on bible stories.
February 9, 2011
It was very cool. I'd always wanted to read and understand the bible stories but they always seemed so complicated. When I first found out about this book I thought it was a nice idea to visualize it and put it down in comic book form. The pictures are amazing.
The only two things that bother me is how all the "bad" or "violent" scenes are all skipped. There too much writing at the top of the boxes and less action. :(
SPOILER ALERT!!! Paul dies at the end of the book.
The only two things that bother me is how all the "bad" or "violent" scenes are all skipped. There too much writing at the top of the boxes and less action. :(
SPOILER ALERT!!! Paul dies at the end of the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews