A children's Bible is a child's first introduction to Salvation history and should be a special book which is treated with proper respect and reverence.
We've chosen this children's Bible as the Core Text for the Beginner level not only for its excellent introduction to the Bible, but also the Biblical explanations for Catholic teachings. . It was also the first Catholic children's Bible I read after my conversion to the Church. Although written for young children, I learned much as a new Catholic from reading this Bible story book written by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik. He has woven Catholic doctrine into many of the stories - teaching lessons of the faith along with the well-known stories of the Bible. For example, in the story of Adam and Eve Fr. Lovasik writes:
"Then God said to the serpent, "I will put hatred between you and the woman...She shall crush your head." God promised that the rule of Satan over mankind would be broken by the Child whom a woman would bring into the world. This Child was to be the Redeemer of the human race, and the Blessed Virgin Mary would be His Mother." [pg. 11]
One of the criteria I use when looking for a good children's Bible is historically accurate, realistic illustrations. No cartoon Jesus for me! I want my children to understand from a young age that the stories from Scriptures are true history, not myths or fairytales. This Catholic Picture Bible includes full color, realistic illustrations, one for each story, which convey the meaning of the story, as well as historically accurate settings and dress.
The New Catholic Picture Bible contains stories taken from the Holy Bible, intended for the whole family and easy to understand. The first part treats the Old Testament, from Adam to Christ, and contains the most important and memorable events in God's dealings with man during that time. The second part contains sixty stories from the New Testament that narrate beautifully the life, teachings, and work of Our Lord and Savior. These simply written stories, praised by leading Catholic educators for their style, will delight children time after time. Also contains the Stations of the Cross and photographs of the Holy Land.