My son Daniel was the very happy recipient of the Zonderkidz Faith Builders Bible.

Several months ago I started looking for a bible for Daniel. He was outgrowing his young readers’ bible and was ready for something which had more scripture and less stories. At the age of five, he was going to need a bible he could take to church and be able to follow along with the text, but, he is still a young boy, so dynamic pictures, easy to read print, and a durable cover were a must!  I also don’t want to be replacing his bible every year or so, so I needed one that would last him many years- both in durability and content.

Then, Zonderkidz invited us to review their Faith Builders  Bible. This Bible combined the Word of God with fun building block activities, using colorful pictures to illustrate the way a young student could use building blocks to bring the Bible to life.  Daniel was so excited to have his very own brand new Bible, and was even more excited when he saw the neat pictures in it.

He started by sitting down and flipping through just looking at all the pictures. Often, he would pause and ask us what story the pictures were

On Sunday, when it was time for church, he did not hesitate to get his Bible- something he had previously not been consistent to remember on his own. I was in the choir loft practicing singing, and in he marched, proudly holding his new Bible up in the air, over his head. He was so happy.

Then, as everyone turned to the scripture readings, he readily got help to get to the right page to follow along.  As the sermon got long (Sorry, Pastor Smith!), he slowly began to flip the pages to look at the pictures. He stayed still and quiet for the whole sermon. A few times I caught his older brother peeking over his shoulder.

 

At home, I have found him with his new Bible next to his Lego table, trying to copy the pictures from the book with his own Lego blocks. And then he proudly brings me his model and asks me to tell him the story. It’s just precious. Not only is he reading the Bible more, he is more curious and more readily picks it up for himself, not just for his required reading. I am so glad for him. Anything that makes reading the Bible a joy is a winner in my book!

I am glad he loves it now, but I was wondering how this bible would work for an older child. Fortunately, I have a perfect test subject in my home, my ten-year-old son, David. He’s been reading the bible on his own for several years now and I was curious to see what he would think about this one. I asked him to look at it and see what he thought. He said: “It’s really cool, mom! If you get another one, I’ll write a review!”  He is still most definitely in the stage of loving Lego, so the building block aspect was neat for him. He enjoyed looking through to see what stories had neat building block activities, and then told me his ideas for more scenes that could be demonstrated using blocks. I was glad to see his interest and delight in this bible. I know his brother will treasure it for many years.

Thanks, Zonderkidz for a great gift for my little boy!  He loves it and gives it a hearty endorsement.