The Character Builder's Bible
Children's Story Bible
Available October 2017
Tyndale House Publishers
About the Book
The Bible is so much more than a collection of stories.
It is the overarching message of God’s love for us and a practical guide to daily living. So often our littlest children hear these stories but miss out on how to apply the principles to their lives. The Character Builder’s Biblehighlights core character traits that the Bible teaches and suggests fun, practical ways to live out these truths so that little minds can understand. Each Bible narrative is told simply, is tied to a positive attribute like obedience or humility, and is followed with a real-life example of how kids can apply the lesson in their own lives.
Featuring 60 Bible stories with colorful illustrations, definitions, and memory verses, The Character Builder’s Bible will show your little ones that God’s Word is relevant to their lives and will help you instill biblical character in their hearts.
My Thoughts
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book. The idea was a good one, but it missed the mark for me.
There are 60 Bible stories in this book. Each story includes a Bible verse, a few paragraphs telling the story in simple terms, a short poem about the character trait, and a "cartoon" with real life examples of the character trait in action.
I liked the idea of using Bible stories to help children learn about character. However, it was unclear to me how the character traits were selected to go along with the stories. Many didn't seem to match. For instance, diligence was the trait to be learned from the story of creation. Are we teaching that God was diligent so we also must be diligent? Or just that diligence is a good trait to learn? The cartoon illustrations didn't line up well with the trait either. Based on the cartoon illustrations, I probably would have chosen "creativity" as the trait.
Another example of a major miss is the story "Jesus calms the storm" paired with gentleness. Honestly, this is one of the times Jesus is most powerful (exhibiting power over nature). Additionally, the poem and the cartoon didn't explain gentleness accurately.
There were other "traits" that weren't traits at all: communion, Holy Spirit, Easter, heaven, etc.
(There were *some* stories that matched up well with the highlighted character trait and that explained the trait well through the poem and the cartoon.)
Some of the stories highlighted traits that God exhibited and that we should emulate. Others seemed to highlight traits that other people in the story exhibited. This alone caused confusion as I read through the book. It's dangerous to come to the Bible and look for what the Bible "means for me" rather than what the Bible "teaches me about God."
Great idea, but the execution was poor. I dislike giving negative reviews but felt I couldn't recommend this book for the reasons stated.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own and are freely given. [2 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book. The idea was a good one, but it missed the mark for me.
There are 60 Bible stories in this book. Each story includes a Bible verse, a few paragraphs telling the story in simple terms, a short poem about the character trait, and a "cartoon" with real life examples of the character trait in action.
I liked the idea of using Bible stories to help children learn about character. However, it was unclear to me how the character traits were selected to go along with the stories. Many didn't seem to match. For instance, diligence was the trait to be learned from the story of creation. Are we teaching that God was diligent so we also must be diligent? Or just that diligence is a good trait to learn? The cartoon illustrations didn't line up well with the trait either. Based on the cartoon illustrations, I probably would have chosen "creativity" as the trait.
Another example of a major miss is the story "Jesus calms the storm" paired with gentleness. Honestly, this is one of the times Jesus is most powerful (exhibiting power over nature). Additionally, the poem and the cartoon didn't explain gentleness accurately.
There were other "traits" that weren't traits at all: communion, Holy Spirit, Easter, heaven, etc.
(There were *some* stories that matched up well with the highlighted character trait and that explained the trait well through the poem and the cartoon.)
Some of the stories highlighted traits that God exhibited and that we should emulate. Others seemed to highlight traits that other people in the story exhibited. This alone caused confusion as I read through the book. It's dangerous to come to the Bible and look for what the Bible "means for me" rather than what the Bible "teaches me about God."
Great idea, but the execution was poor. I dislike giving negative reviews but felt I couldn't recommend this book for the reasons stated.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own and are freely given. [2 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.
