A Comic-Book Style Bible for Children

Enlisting the help of her three children, Jennifer J. Thomas offers her thoughts on The Illustrated Bible for Children from Magnificat.

The Illustrated Bible for Children

Jean-François Kieffer

Magnificat-Ignatius (April 24, 2022)

My three children, whom I fondly refer to as my “Trio” are among the growing population of children who are fans of books written and published in a comic style. From older series being republished in this new way of captivating children’s love of reading like The Babysitter’s Club to the newer Dogman series of books, comic style seems to be the newest trend among the ages of 7 years old and up.

As soon as I learned about The Illustrated Bible for Children from Magnificat, I was anxious to peruse the pages to see if it could be beneficial for my children. We had previously read other children's Bibles that presented the information for a much younger audience and after becoming more familiar with the stories of the Bible, I wanted to see if it resonated with my Trio.

When I initially received the book, I flipped through the pages, looking specifically at the illustrations and how the information was presented. I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the illustrations and how each of the stories within the Bible are represented in a way that resonated with my children. I allowed each of my children to look at it and asked them to give their opinions. Afterall, they are the target audience not just because of their age but also because comic style reading is what they love lately.

Filled with Beautiful Illustrations

I love the fact that at the beginning of the book, there is a glossary of characters with their pictures and names to help the children associate who people are within the book. There were several instances when this came in quite handy for my children to make the connection of a face to a person in the Bible. I also enjoyed the fact that it contains a table of contents that breaks it down into both the Old Testament and New Testament. I also found the addition of scripture verses to make it more relatable to the Bible as a whole and not just storytelling. It helped my children make connections between what they already knew as part of the story but also verses they have heard during mass and other events like Vacation Bible School.

While my children do love the comic style, they did find it to be for “younger kids,” in the words of my ten-year-old. That being said, I highly recommend this book as an alternative to some of the other non-denominational versions of children's Bibles and think it would be a great addition to your family’s library or even a gift for those who will be receiving their First Holy Communion.

family reading

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