The latest issue of Themelios includes the following review article that my wife and I coauthored:
Andrew David Naselli and Jennifer J. Naselli. “Theology for Kids: Recommending Some Recent Books for Younger Children.” [Also available in HTML.] Themelios 33:3 (2008): 120–25.
Excerpt:
Without pretending to be experts on theological children’s literature, we have sorted through recent theology books for younger children and compiled a short list of outstanding books. Other books are undoubtedly worthy of mention, but these are our favorites. What follows organizes them in three categories and ranks the books in order, beginning with our top recommendations.
Bible Story Books
Other Story Books
Systematic Theology Books
Thank you for the annotated booklist. I’m always looking for well-written, well-illustrated Christian children’s books. I’d like to look some of these up in the near future.
Thank-you so much for this Andy! I have been trying to research this topic for the parents in our church, and this is very, very helpful… I’m particularly looking forward to the book by Bruce Ware. Have you read any of Sinclair Ferguson’s children’s books?
Blessings…
Donovan
Thanks, Donovan.
Yes, we read the books by Sinclair Ferguson, but they didn’t quite make the top tier. My wife, who has a degree in early childhood education and has taught children for many years, has pretty high standards for what make a good children’s book, and those ones didn’t quite make the cut for the review.
Hi, thanks for the list. I have several of these which my children enjoy. I would like to tell you about a set of books that my children love for me to read. They are about children and how God used situations to bring children to Christ or helped them grow more in Christ.
The book set is “Building on the Rock Series” By: Joel R. Beeke & Diana Kleyn. These 5 paperback books contain many short stories about honouring God, how God cares for us, true conversion, standing for Christ, and how children can repent from their sins.
These books are very strong about living the Christian life at home, school, and through everyday troubles. I also teach a 3rd-5th grade discipleship class and have used them as supplemental stories. The kids always love them and are learning how children who “profess” Christ should live. I have seen how children today do not know what true repentance is, what sin is, and what it truly means to know Christ and Him Crucified. These books have helped them see their sin, their need to repent, their need for a saviour and how their life is to reflect Christ in all they do.
Thanks again, James
Thank you for the helpful info. Would you and Jenni recommend Bible reading for newborns? Samuel is close to only two months old. Would you recommend Sally Lloyd-Jones’s The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name or others? Thanks.
Thanks, Ting. This is way out of my field (!), but I can share something anecdotally (for what it’s worth): my wife has been reading books regularly to Kara since she was born (including the one by Sally Lloyd-Jones).
What about the Children’s Story Bible by Pearl Buck? : )
Andy! Thanks so much for this list! We are looking for something to use in our family Bible time, and this is so useful.
Thanks for the list, Andy – my wife and I just became pregnant with our first and will be planning on picking up good children’s books.