The Jesus Storybook Bible

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
By Sally Lloyd-Jones


My husband bought The Jesus Storybook Bible for our daughter for Christmas this year and it immediately became a favorite in our home. Each story, from Genesis to Revelations, is beautifully written and illustrated. Lloyd-Jones wrote in such a way that every story draws you in, whether you're a child or an adult.

There is a quote by G K Chesterton used in this book and it appropriately describes the joint works of Sally Lloyd-Jones (Author), J. Jago (Illustrator), and David Suchet (Narrator) and The Jesus Storybook Bible...

"I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller."

Sally Lloyd-Jones is an excellent story-teller! And she chose to use her excellent story-telling skills to tell the most important stories ever written, those that are in the Bible. Stories that are better than any fairy tale ever imagined. Stories that are true. Stories that, no matter how old they may be, are still relevant to life today. Lloyd-Jones doesn't gloss over the harder aspects of some stories, such as the heartache that Jesus felt in the garden of Gethsemane, but writes about them in ways that a child can understand.

Reading to our daughter at bedtime has always been a cherished time for our family. We have always gravitated to the same books that we've read over the years, books that are considered children's classics. Now we have a new book that we read from every night. And, we can't read just one story a night, we read at least two stories/chapters at a time. Our daughter protests when we have to shut the book and put it up for the night, not because she is trying to put off bedtime but because she wants to hear what happens next. To me, that is the highest praise a children's book can receive.

The storybook Bible is beautifully illustrated by J. Jago. Since I'm not an artist, and know very little about art, I cannot adequately describe Jago's work other than it reminds me of folk art. He added tiny details in his artwork that draws you into the page and brings the stories to life.

We bought the deluxe edition of this book which includes the complete book on audio CDs. The narration was done by David Suchet. Best known for his role as Agatha Christie's great detective Hercule Poirot, Suchet's narration is superb. I am not a fan of audio books and yet I enjoy listening to these.

I cannot give any higher praise for this storybook Bible than what my daughter says each night at bedtime, "Can we read our Bible stories now?" For a child to ask repeatedly to read from the same book means that they enjoy it. This is one book that we'll read from for years to come!

[Photos are courtesy of Amazon.com]