Nowadays, if you ask a random person to pick up a King James Bible to read, the odds are good that they won’t understand what they’re reading. While the KJV is beautifully written and marks an important time in Bible translation history, it can be difficult to digest. For years, Sunday school curriculum for kids used older translations like the KJV, so children didn’t always understand the scripture they read.

So, how can you help kids start to understand scripture? The answer is to begin young and provide them with understandable and interesting tools that will pique their curiosity. Below are five Bibles and/or storybooks that can help facilitate a child’s first dive into scripture.

5 Favorite Children’s Bibles & Storybooks

1. The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible

For a young child who is either a first-time Bible reader or new reader, this Bible has over 300 illustrated pages to catch their imagination and help the Bible come to life before their eyes. It’s divided into the Old and New Testaments and provides book references so you can begin teaching kids faith by introducing them to the structure of the Bible.

2. Bible Infographics for Kids: Giants, Ninja Skills, a Talking Donkey, and What’s the Deal with the Tabernacle?

This book is the winner of the 2019 ECPA Christian Book award for young people’s literature – and it’s definitely not boring. Most adults would even enjoy this book’s masterful use of pictures, art, and information to make the Bible come alive. Readers will find an endless amount of fascinating trivia, such as:

• It would take approximately 7,453,506 soccer balls to fill up Noah’s Ark.
• Paul was quite the traveler – over 10,000 miles on his missionary journeys. This is basically the distance from New York City to Rio Grande at the tip of South America.
• The number of people who exited Egypt during the Exodus is around the number of people living in Los Angeles (3-4 million), and all of those people wandered for 40 years.

The second installment of the infographics books – Volume 2: Light and Dark, Heroes and Villains, and Mind-Blowing Bible Facts – takes on a different format to highlight how amazing the Bible is, for example:

• Light vs Darkness — an explanation of why you won’t see them in the same place.
• Angels vs Demons — how both have powers, but only one wins.
• Feats of God vs Failures of Men — how God does remarkable things, while man fails in comparison.
• False Gods vs the One True God— Examples of false gods and how they are only a pretender matched up against the One True God.

3. Bedtime Bible Story Book: 365 Read-aloud Stories from the Bible.

This is a wonderful book to devote just 10 minutes a day to your 3-8 year old for reading from an easily understandable Bible. Each story provides questions to help promote discussion with your kids. Allowing them to ask questions during this time will help you know what they understand, what they don’t understand, and how you can help them grow in their Bible learning.

4. The Action Bible (written by Doug Mauss and illustrated by Brazilian artist Sergio Cariello)

This one has an action-packed, up-to-date feel while still maintaining the integrity of the scriptures. While there isn’t an age restriction on it, this is meant for a more mature child, especially one who enjoys comic books. Written in chronological order, the writing and the engaging illustrations provide a compelling narrative to follow, thus leading kids into a better understanding of what the scriptures are all about.

5. Laugh and Learn Bible for Kids (Phil Vischer)

The first ever Bible storybook for kids written by VeggieTales® and What’s In The Bible? creator, the Laugh and Learn Bible for Kids includes fifty-two stories, making it the perfect tool for reading the Bible in one year!

Not only does this Bible for kids include favorite stories of Bible heroes and heroines, it also tackles tricky questions like, “What is sin?” and “What is the trinity?”. Phil Vischer uses his beloved, whimsical storytelling to share God’s Story–from Genesis to Revelation.

The Bible is filled with bonus content such as maps, charts, and Bible section introductions that give context clues. Each story includes a Family Connection to help readers dig deeper and talk about what they are learning. After reading the Laugh and Learn Bible, kids and parents alike will have a comprehensive understanding of the Gospel narrative and God’s love for them!

Other Tools for Teaching Scripture

While there are many Sunday school and children’s ministry ideas for teaching kids scripture, using video to stimulate their minds is something they always love. What better way to teach a kid the Esther story than with a VeggieTales episode? You could also consider delving into Jacob’s Ladder for a visit to Bible times. Using these tools alongside scripture will engage multiple learning styles in your kids, contributing to their development as followers of Jesus.