The Golden Children's Bible is a story bible for children, beautifully illustrated and written in a simplified "King James" style. It's not quite modern English, using phraseology like "He was a goodly child" or "And lo, the star which they saw..." But we believe that will only help children to become accustomed to the language of great literature at an early age.
The book also helps the reader to put stories in chronological order. For example, the story of David begins with his anointing and ends with his death. And the typeset is large and clear, so it won't strain your eyes. There are 124 basic headings for stories, many with further divisions to cover specificevents in more depth. The consequent length of each section (short, generally) and the extensive number of pictures makes the text very manageable for young readers. While 1st graders willprobably need help, 2nd-4th graders will likely be able to read on their own.
Some people have complained (though not to us!) that this book is "racist," with its ethnicity leaning towards those of "northern European" descent (Jesus is depicted as blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and the queen of Sheba is white, for instance). But race is not the point, and shouldn't stop anyone from purchasing this lovely book.
Originally published in the 1960s, the Golden Children's Bible was approved by an editorial board consisting of leaders from the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths. Consequently there is no sectarian emphasis, the authors opting instead to remain faithful to the plain meaning of the original texts. There are some notable omissions—Isaac's sacrifice at the hands of Abraham, Job and Esther are all missing—but overall this volume provides an excellent overview of the key points in the Biblical narrative.
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