Tyndale House publishers sent me a free copy of 101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest for Truth and we LOVE it! Carolyn Larsen does a great job of presenting exciting Bible stories in a format that is very accessible for children.
Each story presentation has four components: What’s Up, Action Adventure, Key Verse, and Now What. What’s up is an excellent context paragraph. It details what has happened up to this point so the child understands the bigger picture. This is important, especially if families aren’t reading the book every night. The second section is Action Adventure. This is the Bible story (or part) directly from the Bible in New Living Translation. The third section is a Key Verse from the Action Adventure section. These are wonderfully short so that even a child in early elementary could learn it with enough repetition. Finally the Now What section tells kids how they can interpret, understand, or apply the Action Adventure. This provides a good springboard for family discussion.
One of my favorite elements about 101 Bible Adventures is the stories that Carolyn Larsen chose. Instead of spending four or five lessons on Noah and the flood, for instance, she spends two. In doing so, she has room for other great lessons like the talking donkey, the golden calf, Deborah, building the temple, and of course lots of miracles and disciple adventures.
I share these stories every few nights with my boys, ages 7 and 3. The seven year old has heard many of them before, so the Now What section and Key Verse are what I really focus on with him. The three year old is just now beginning to recognize stories like Noah, so the repetition is good. He may miss the context and application, but he’s learning the story. I believe the book will be appropriate for several more years for my older boy. There are stories about women, too, so girls aren’t left out. However, the book seems targeted to young boys who love a good action story.
You can find 101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest for Truth at Amazon for $11.04.
Happy Reading~
Andrea
