I spend a lot of time reading Bibles designed for little kids. It’s partially because I have a 5-year-old at home, and partially because I write and design Bible lessons for preschoolers. I’ve read at least a dozen kids’ Bibles cover-to-cover, and they aren’t all created equally. I’m often asked if I can recommend a favorite Children’s Bible for preschoolers and kindergarten students, so I thought I’d put together a post of my current favorites.

Please note: None of the links in the post below are affiliate links. Most link to the publisher or official website for each book.

What do you look for in a children’s bible?

The first thing I look for in a children’s Bible, especially when reading to kids kindergarten-age and younger, is text that can easily be understood by younger kids. Is the theology broken down in a way kids will understand? Are the sentences simple enough that I’m not having to recap the story at the end of every paragraph?

It’s also important to me that the children’s Bible is written with age-appropriate takeaways from each story. While all of scripture is God-breathed, some of the stories and ideas are best suited for older children and adults. My 5-year-old is easily frightened and tends to fixate on the scarier parts of a Bible story, so we look for a kids’ Bible that doesn’t dive too deeply into the ‘scary’ moments of the Bible.

52 Weeks of Preschool Bible Lessons

Looking to make the Bible come alive for 3-6 year olds? These preschool Bible lessons and printable crafts are the perfect compliment to any children’s Bible.

see it on etsy

Jesus Calling Bible Storybook by sarah young

The Jesus Calling Storybook is hands-down my favorite kids’ Bible. The storytelling is excellent, it’s easy to read, and it summarizes stories in a way that is perfect for preschoolers. It does such a great job at keeping the stories age-appropriate. I was particularly impressed with how the story of Abraham and Isaac was written. It highlighted God’s mercy and the foreshadowing of the Lamb of God without completely terrifying my 5-year-old.

Most stories also end with a section that is very similar to the adult versions of ‘Jesus Calling’. These short passages are written in first-person from God and help to explain the main takeaways. My daughter loves them!

The Beginner’s Bible from Zondervan Kids

This Beginner’s Bible is a classic. I believe I even had a version of it in my childhood home in the 90’s. It’s been around forever, and for good reason! This is the very first Bible I ever read to my daughter. It does a great job of retelling most of the Bible in very simple terms. It doesn’t do any interpretation of the stories, or connect them to the larger story of Jesus, but it’s a great starting point for preschoolers. I highly recommend this one for kids in the 2, 3, and 4-year-old range. It’s a great starter Bible and the perfect way to introduce these stories for the first time.

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

The Jesus Storybook Bible is one of the most popular kids’ Bibles on the market, and with good reason. The book beautifully retells many classic Bible stories in a way that connects them to the overarching story of Jesus and redemption. It’s a beautiful book for both children and adults.

That being said, I don’t recommend it for kids under 6 or 7 years old. The stories are long, sometimes too long for a preschooler’s attention, and it draws connections and parallels that go above their heads. If you already have this version, I’d hang on to it until your kids are in grade school. (Spoiler: It’s my top choice for that age group!)

If you would like some more preschool-friendly materials by Sally Lloyd-Jones, she has a board book series of psalms written in kid-friendly language. The series is growing, but some of the titles include Near: Psalm 139, Found: Psalm 23, Strong: Psalm 1, and Happy: Psalm 92.

Sally Lloyd-Jones also has a board book called Loved: The Lord’s Prayer. But I should mention that this book refers to God as ‘Daddy’. And I know people have differing opinions on using that language when referring to God,

The Ology by Marty Machowski

Surprise! This final book is NOT a children’s Bible. Well, not really. I know that this is a list of the best Bibles for kids… so why am I including something else on this list?

As a parent and Sunday School teacher, The Ology is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and it’s deeply impacted how I explain the Bible to children. The book breaks down most Biblical theology into kid-friendly terms and does it in a way that’s so easy to understand.

If you’re a parent or teacher of preschoolers, I highly recommend reading this book as background knowledge. Preschoolers are full of so many questions about the Bible, and this is a great source to run to if you find yourself unable to explain trickier Biblical concepts. As your kids grow, this also becomes the perfect book to read aloud to your older kids.

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I’d love to know if you have any children’s Bibles you absolutely LOVE that you think I should add to this list. Please add them in the comments, or message me directly.

What does it mean to have courage? And how do we teach lessons about courage to our students in our classrooms or Sunday school?  Do we tell them to bravely face each problem without fear? Do we tell our Sunday school students that courage means fear is gone altogether? Does courage mean that we aren't scared of anything?

Teaching little people about courage can be a tough concept to tackle, especially when little fears can seem like such a big deal. Or when we just don't know what tomorrow, or next week, or next month will hold.  But that's the thing, courage isn't the absence of fears or things to be afraid of.  Courage is a choice to do the right thing even if we are afraid.  Say that one out loud.  Write it down somewhere that you can see every day.  (I put it on a post-it note beside my bed!) 

Bible Stories that Help to Teach Courage

There are so many great Bible stories to help show our students examples of real men and women who had to make the choice to do the right thing even if they were afraid.  Here are a few of my favorites…

• David and Goliath

• Esther

• Daniel in the Den of Lions

Where Does Courage Come From?

Our students need to understand that this courage to do what is right doesn't come from themselves, it comes from God!  We can be brave and have courage because courage comes from Him.  We can choose to make the next right choice because our strength and courage is not our own. 

Are you looking to teach your elementary student more about what the Bible has to say about courage?  Bible-Based Character, Courage explores courage from a Bible-based perspective and is perfect for Christian Schools, Sunday Schools, and Children's Church. 

Grab this free courage journalling activity and try out a courage lesson right now.

Looking for a little more?

There’s a whole set of Bible Based Character Education lessons themed around COURAGE ready for your classroom or Sunday School.

grab all of the lessons

When I’m teaching at a Christian school my number one goal each year is to help my students to fall in love with Jesus. Sure, I want them to meet and exceed government standards, and become confident and capable citizens... but the top priority is to see my students live and thrive in their relationship with Christ. I think that one of the most important ways to do this is through a knowledge of the 'stories' in the Bible.  All of the Bible is God's love letter to us, His children, and ultimately paints an amazing picture of grace and redemption.

I can remember my first year teaching.  I casually said something along the lines of...

"Wow! It is really raining outside!  This must be what Noah felt like on the Ark."

Only 2/3 of my class understood what I was talking about.  Two-thirds of my class of third-graders in a Christian school.

I investigated further.  At least seven of my precious little kiddos were unfamiliar with the story of Noah's Ark.  Or Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors.  Or Jonah and the Whale.  Or Daniel in the Lion's Den.   You get the idea.

I learned an important lesson that day - we cannot assume that all of our students in Christian schools (or Sunday School) have basic Biblical background knowledge.  I got to work right away making Bible plans to help fill in some of these 'gaps' for my precious kiddos. Together, we worked through many of the ‘big’ stories in the Bible.

We created books to go along with each story...

Like this one about the  Garden of Eden! We learned the important details of each story and started to memorize verses... (Noah's Ark)

We learned new Bible story-specific vocabulary...

We made crafts...

For the first time all of my students knew The Creation Story!

Overall we really deepened our knowledge of God's word. 

Through our Bible Story Small Group, it was amazing to watch some of my students learn these stories for the first time, and watch others make deeper connections with stories they already knew and loved.

All of my Bible Story units are designed to be useful for a K-5 classroom in Christian School, homeschool, or Sunday School classroom.  There are currently more than 12 units available.

How does your class, Sunday School class, or children, like to study the Bible?  What inspires you to learn more about Jesus? Share your best ideas in the comments below!

If you’re curious to try a Bible story unit, or need something quick for a Sunday School lesson… I have a new Bible Story lesson all about Esther, The Brave Queen. It’s a sample version of my larger story units, and it’s totally free. It includes scripted lessons, Bible memory, student books, and early finisher activities. Perfect to print and try. E-mail subscribers can try it for free, it’s the perfect way to see if my Bible story units will work for you and your class.

Trying to fit in daily time to read the Bible can be tricky in grade three, but I feel that it’s important… especially at a Christian school. My grade three literacy program is part Daily 5, part Literacy Place, part Reading Power, and part 6-Traits. I haven’t ever found one program that completely fits the needs of my students, so I have always borrowed from the best parts of the most quality reading and writing programs on the market. Each day, my students sit for 20-25 minutes of independent, sustained Read to Self time.

In our room, this is treasured time.

My students need the time both to practice their reading, and to have a small amount of time that is calm and quiet. They treasure this time as much as I do, and heaven help us if this block has to be moved for some reason! Most of the time, students can choose to read any book (or magazine, or comic) that they would like as long as it is usually at their level.

read to self time with bibles

However, on Wednesdays, we spend the entire Read to Self block in our Bibles.We are so lucky to have a class set of Bibles that are assigned to each student.We have New International Reader's Version Bibles that are just about perfect for a third-grade reading level.

I think that it is so important to cultivate a classroom culture that places an emphasis on the Word as being important.  Building strong spiritual disciplines starts early, and the Christian classroom is a great place for this.  How can I teach and tell my students that reading their Bibles is important if we are not spending time to do that during class time? How can I talk about how important it is for them to fall in love with God’s Word if I am not setting that example myself?

How to help students navigate their Bibles while they read

Before our time in the Word begins, I stand at the board and help students to navigate their Bibles.They will yell out topics and stories that they want to read about, and I will (to the best of my ability) point them to the Book/Chapter in the Bible that they will head to.

Sure, there are parts of the Bible that they won’t yet be able to understand, and some of it is above their reading level, but that doesn’t mean that they are too young to start the habit of reading from a Bible for enjoyment. 

Spoiler Alert: The boys like the stories about battles, fierce animals, and God showing his POWER!I cannot tell you how full my heart feels during this block. It’s amazing to look around the room and see a class full of students enraptured by the Bible. I love it when students skip up to share something new that they have discovered, or just cannot wait to tell a friend about what they have read.

Even though we only have scheduled “Wednesdays in the Word” so many of my students have begun pulling out their Bibles for Read to Self much more than one day a week. It’s such a joy to watch the Spirit move in our classroom through the hearts and minds of these little ones.