Children's Bible voted Bible of the Year ahead of adult versions
Seeing your child take pleasure in studying the Bible by playing Indiana Jones or the entomologist observing the Creation, while considering primarily the person of Christ, this is the goal of a version of the Bible intended for children. The book recently won the Bible of the Year award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).
Each year, the ECPA distinguishes several books, including a version of the Bible. On May 9, CBS Explorer Bible for Kids published by Lifeway Christian Resources has been rewarded during the awards ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. It has been 18 years since the ECPA gave an award for a children's Bible.
This book for young readers competed in the "Bible" category, created in 1988, one of 12 categories, and it is one of two versions of the Bible for children awarded in 25 years. This adaptation of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) aims to help children ages 6-12 understand the central message of the Bible and discover how its 66 books fit together to tell a cohesive story.
"Through the new Explorer Bible for Kids, we want to engage children in God's Word through exploring God's world," Lifeway Christian Resources says in a video uploaded by its imprint B&H Publishing, the oldest publisher of the Bible in the United States.
To do this, children can find illustrations in the pages linking archaeological discoveries to Bible texts, explore Creation, follow history using illustrated timelines that describe key periods and events. This CSB for children also offers an “Explorer's Glossary” and a Topical Concordance through which they can discover the meaning and context of key biblical words.
Interactive QR codes are embedded in the text, allowing children to watch online videos or printable materials and games for home, school or church.
Memorize and internalize the message of the Bible
The book is designed to facilitate the memorization of Bible verses through the visualization of archaeological finds. Children are invited to grasp the contextualization of each of the 66 books using the five "W"s (who, what, when, where, why - who, what, when, where and why).
Beyond the cultural aspect, this Bible also offers a moral and spiritual approach with lessons to be learned from the various stories. Through the texts "Discovering the Truth", she aims to help children "understand and apply essential biblical truths".
So the passage that mentions God's promise to Abraham to have many offspring is completed with a note saying that God always keeps his promises, and readers can use the QR code below the note to dig deeper. The "Christ in Context" notes are intended to show how the whole Bible points to Jesus and the Gospel.
The spiritual transformation of life is for example illustrated by the moult of the caterpillar into a butterfly. Above an image, a word recalls that the apostle Paul declared to the Corinthians that he who is in Christ is a new creature.
Andy McLean, publisher of B&H Publishing, is delighted with such recognition:
"It's a confirmation of what we set out to accomplish, creating a compelling way to help children engage with the history, culture, and meaning of the text of scripture."
Jean Sarpedon
