The last 7 years have seen a praiseworthy trend in Bible publishing, and Crossway’s ESV has been at the cutting edge of it. That trend is the publication of editions of the Bible intentionally designed to encourage Bible reading. Reading not of the verse-of-the-day kind, but of the lose-track-of-the-time-on-a-lazy-afternoon kind.
That trend’s cutting edge, on which Crossway regularly seems to take up residence, has now cast its shadow into the realm of children’s Bibles. I like what I’ve seen so far, and I hope there’s no going back.
Unfolding Grace
In particular, Unfolding Grace For Kids introduces children aged 8-12 to the concept of a reader’s Bible through 40 guided readings. This is not a complete Bible, but more of a devotional work. And the sort of devotional work where more than 95% of the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit himself.
Each reading consists of a thematic graphic, a brief 2-3 paragraph introduction, and a sturdy portion of Scripture (around 20-40 verses long). The graphics are both attractive and thoughtful, but the truly beautiful thing is that the introductions are introductory. The purpose all throughout is to tell the entire story of Scripture, so each introduction tends to summarize where we are in the grand narrative and set the scene for the Scripture about to be read.
The Scripture passages are thereby given the greatest focus. They take up the most space. They are presented with a marvelous cleanness, without footnotes, section headings, or chapter and verse numbers, and with sizable margins. The font used for the Scripture is even more lovely and readable than the font used for the introductions, offering a visible reinforcement of what this Bible wants the reader to care about the most.
Physically, this volume is a delight to read. Unless I’m mistaken, the paper appears even thicker than that used in the six-volume reader’s ESV. The cover and binding show remarkable sturdiness. The dust jacket is not overstuffed with fluff text. And for some reason, I failed to notice the ribbon bookmark until I was partway in. Advertising blurbs for this book focus on the “journey through 40 guided readings,” making it sound primarily like a personal devotional. Upon accessing the ribbon bookmark, I finally realized that what I was actually in possession of (thanks to Crossway for the review copy) was really a junior-grade reader’s Bible.
Not Perfect
I will not hide the fact that I love Unfolding Grace For Kids, but it still leaves room for improvement. Though the introductions are brief, they still seem wordy and unclear at times. Sometimes the graphic is misleading (for example, a graphic of a rope hanging from a window when the following Joshua text says nothing about Rahab; or a graphic of Stephen being stoned associated with a selection from Acts 5 where Ananias is struck dead and the apostles are put in jail).
And the selection of particular Scripture readings is often puzzling. For example, when helping young people to discover “how Jesus is the promised Savior who came to restore his people and renew the world,” would you direct their attention to Abraham and Isaac calling their wives their sisters (Gen 12, 26)? Or would you highlight the kidnapping of dancing girls at Shiloh just to get the narrative declaration that Israel had no king (Judges 21)? Or would you include Ananias and Sapphira, Paul’s first full sermon in the book of Acts, and Jesus’ communiques through John to the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna—while excluding the near-sacrifice of Isaac, Joseph’s rescue of the world from famine, Gideon’s conquest of Midian, Daniel’s deliverance from lions, Elijah’s showdown on Mount Carmel, and the entire body of the Bible’s wisdom literature, including the Psalms?
Many of the Scripture selections make sense. But others are not quite what I would have chosen to give kids the clearest sense of the Bible’s larger view of Jesus’ salvation and restoration of the world.
Conclusion
With that said, I am simply delighted to hand this thing over to my children, now that I’m finished with my copy of it. This is the sort of book that will remind them that reading the Bible is supposed to be fun, without having to be juvenile. This is the sort of book that, by curating 40 of the most important and most connected passages of Scripture, sets them up to read God’s word as it was meant to be read and with great joy. I eagerly commend it to you and your kids.
Find it at Crossway and Amazon.
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