The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes

by Kenneth N. Taylor

The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes is the perfect way to teach children he truths of the Bible. With short stories in simple language and lots of classic pictures, this book is bound to be a favorite of your children for years to come.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Religion, Devotional, Christian, Faith

382 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Throughout his publishing career, Dr. Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor's dream was for all peoples of the world to read and understand God's Word and experience its power at work in their lives. From his earliest children's books to his generous support of Christian ministry, this vision was (and still is) reflected in his work. Ken Taylor, founder of Tyndale House Publishers, died in June 2005 at the age of 88. Early in his publishing career in the 1950s as director of Moody Press, Dr. Taylor wrote several children's books. Born out of experience with his own ten children, "Stories for the Children's Hour," "The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes," and others are now being enjoyed by a third generation of children. "My First Bible in Pictures" was included in "Publishers Weekly"'s list of "All-Time Best-Selling Children's Books" in 2001. His love for children (including his 28 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren) continues to inspire new titles. In fact, it was his children, in their confusion over the meaning of the King James Version, who prompted his mission to make the Bible understandable for everyone. Dr. Taylor's "Living Letters," a thought-for-thought translation of the New Testament Epistles, was published by the newly formed Tyndale House Publishers in 1962. The complete "Living Bible" followed in 1971 and has now sold over 40 million copies in its many editions. In 1996 Tyndale House introduced the "Holy Bible," New Living Translation. In keeping with Dr. Taylor's vision of Scriptures that everyone can read, the New Living Translation is a thought-for-thought translation that is exegetically accurate and idiomatically authoritative. Ninety of today's leading Bible scholars worked with Tyndale House to develop this easy-to-understand translation. Tyndale has become one of the top evangelical publishers in America and today publishes books, several Bible lines, periodicals, and videos. During the past 40 years, Tyndale House has distributed over 100 million Bibles, New Testaments, and Bible portions worldwide. Dr. Taylor used the success of "The Living Bible" to further his mission by distributing all its royalties to Christian ministries worldwide. He founded Living Bibles International (which merged in 1992 with the International Bible Society) for translating, publishing, and distributing modern-language versions of the Bible around the world. His life of service has been recognized with at least 30 honors and awards from different organizations, including four honorary doctorates. In October 2000, Dr. and Mrs. (Margaret) Taylor were awarded the Distinguished Service to Family Award by Wheaton College. A graduate of Wheaton College, with graduate studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Taylor held 15 directorships with Christian organizations at home and abroad.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence (from the introduction): Even little children can understand great truths when told to them in simple words. And when pictures are added, doubly indelible impressions are made that can last forever.

First sentence:
When it is nighttime and the lights are out you know how dark everything gets. You can't see anything. That is how all the world once was. There were no pretty flowers; there were no trees or grass or birds. There were no children either. There was only darkness. God did not want everything to be all dark. He decided to make some people. People could not live in the darkness so God made a beautiful world full of light.
Questions: 1. Can you see anything at night when you go to bed and the lights are out?
2. Did God want everything to be all dark.
This is a Bible story book intended for "little eyes." I'm supposing the intended use is for parents to share ONE picture and story per day during their family devotions. The stories are short--very, very short. These stories are shorter than almost any other that I've seen in bible story books through the years I've been reading. But is that a good thing?

The stories are from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Plenty of stories get skimmed over or skipped altogether.

Here's one of his stories about Jeremiah:

This man is Jeremiah. Can you say "Jeremiah"? He is one of God's friends. God has sent him to tell the people to be good. The people do not like Jeremiah to tell them this. They want to be bad so they have tied Jeremiah's hands together. They will put him in a room and lock the door so Jeremiah cannot get away. He must sit there all day. People go by laughing at him and making fun of him. Poor Jeremiah! But God is with him and God will punish the people who do this to His friend.
Questions:
1. What has happened to Jeremiah's hands?
2. Is Jeremiah God's friend?
3. Will God help Jeremiah?

I am curious about the pictures, the illustrations. No credit is given for the artwork. Did Kenneth Taylor use artwork that had already been made for his book? Did he start with finding pictures and then write stories to go with these pictures? OR did the stories come first? Why is there so much emphasis on the details of the pictures perhaps focusing on details that are from artists' imaginations rather than the Bible itself?

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are much better story Bibles for children!

This one feels very legalistic, with a strong emphasis on “minding” God. Although obedience is important, that's not the point of the gospel!

There are other, more minor issues, too; but that's the main one. I can see why some people like this book, but it feels lacking to me.

[L.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if I’ll keep this or not. There’s one story per page, and each story has a picture and questions. On one hand, the questions were too young for my 3-year-old, and one story wasn’t enough to use as a daily devotional. On the other hand, some of the topics were too deep and not age-appropriate—the Bible is hardly “G-rated”—and my toddler didn’t understand or appreciate me skipping a story. Some of the language also wasn’t as helpful as it could have been (“the bad men did bad things”).

But this does pictorially cover the Bible—Old to New Testaments—sufficiently for her age, so I used the stories as a guide: we did several pages per day, and I ignored their questions and (some) narration and inserted my own narration and questions. If I found another devotional that covered as many stories with a picture for each story AND better narration, then I would let this go.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s ok, I just really don’t care for the writing style. It breaks the 4th wall and even though it’s for kids, still seems patronizing and condescending. There’s a way to make things clear and simple without doing that.

Ages: 2 - 5

For a carefully curated Bible stories list: watch my reel!

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[Payton Spainhour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book goes through the Bible in a way that small children can understand. It starts with creation and ends with Acts 27. This detailed book goes from Adam and Eve to Cain and Abel, through the stories of Noah and Moses, and so much more. This book is as the title says, the Bible (up to Acts 27) in a way for children to understand and enjoy.

I really like this book, and grew up having it read to me. The stories are so easy to understand for children, while still telling the stories and facts. The illustrations are beautiful and add so much to the stories. This is an enjoyable read for anyone, but especially children!

This would be a difficult book to have in a classroom (for public school educators at least), but it is such a great book. Many children would benefit from reading stories here and there from the Bible, so if able, this would be a great book to read aloud stories from!

[Sarah Wilkie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The stories were not well written and the pictures were strange. It lacked depth. Like most of the time once I was done reading one of the Bible stories to my daughter, I felt like there was nothing to really learn from it. It doesn’t do a good job of point my child toward the gospel. I want to read books that clearly explain why sin came into the world, how Bible heroes reacted to sin and temptation plus their consequences for giving in or for standing strong, and how Jesus came to die for our sins and rose again so He can take us to Heaven if we choose to believe on Him. This book did not do that. It talked a lot of about being a friend of Jesus, but it didn’t really going into what it meant by that. So in my opinion this book just lacked depth and understanding. We won’t be reading it again, and I plan on getting rid of it.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book mostly for the illustrations. I love that they’re not cartoony or cutesy. The stories are very simplified, but they are well done for toddlers, overall. There is more to the stories, of course, but this book gives a good starting point of basic understanding. I read it to my preschooler and she loved it. Most of the time I didn’t ask her the questions at the end of each story. I let the stories stand on their own and her mind and heart can work on them without extra question prompts.

[J Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was reviewed on the podcast The World and Everything In It on 12/16/16. Highly recommended classic.

Useful for only a very small child. The child is introduced to great Bible stories, but that is all. Very few story details are given. A younger child may not ask further questions about the why's of some of the stories. An older child surely would.

[Kyle Grindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids really engaged with it well!

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this with all of my children and now two young grandchildren. It contains a good overview for a small child, divided into short paragraph readings for a devotion or teaching. It has simple questions designed to help a child remember, e.g. What is a follower of Jesus called? Each short story has a corresponding picture with interactive questions. There are probably an entire year of devotions contained in this. I also like the way that the book is made in a long rectangular shape.

[Kylene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad rating Bible stories so low. My husband and I have been reading this to our 7 month old, and we both didn't really like it. We felt that the stories are written really weird, using a lot of "Do you see the man in the picture?...he is not a nice man." I would rather read a simplified version of the story to my child and then explain it to her. I also don't like format of book.

[Chaplain2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, beautiful "first" Bible to read with your little ones -- especially the edition with the original, classical artwork. What a delightful introduction to Bible stories, and what a blessed gift Kenneth N. Taylor left for future generations of parents and children.

Highly recommended!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it has good pictures, which is good for kids.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a great Bible for Victoria. She knows her stories so well. It is interactive with questions and explains things well.

[Samson]

great

[Celina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this EVERY night before bed growing up! Must have had something worth reading!!!

[Nmarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this as a very young child, and now my daughter enjoys it.

[A Hoppy Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, highly recommended
The most beautifully Illustrated childrens' Bible I've ever seen. Timeless messages told so toddlers can understand.

[Kimberly Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the all-time best Bible for elementary aged kids (under 10 years old).