Bible Review: Children’s Easy-to-Read Bible

Children’s Easy-to-Read Bible. Leafwood Publishers, 2012. 1820 pages

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10
Recommended for: ages 7-10

Bottom Line: The Children’s Easy-to-Read Bible is attractive and accessible to fourth-through-sixth-graders, but the translation has some drawbacks.

This is the latest edition children’s Bible from the World Bible Translation Center, originally (and perhaps still) associated with the Church of Christ (not the International Church of Christ, or the United Church of Christ). The Easy-to-Read translation is the latest version of the New Century/International Children’s Bible (the ICB, reviewed here), and has the same stumbling blocks, notably awkward phraseology and inadequate renderings of key terms. For example, just flipping through, we find “special meetings” substituted for times and seasons in Genesis 1:14. It’s explained in a note at the bottom of the page—most of these terms are—but it’s still discombobulating, and difficult to understand even if one is not familiar with Bible terms. Also, covenant is always translated as “agreement.” In some cases that’s close enough, but not for the grand scheme of God’s series of covenants with men, leading up to the New Covenant in Christ’s blood. This is rendered, again, as “new agreement.” When the Ark of the Covenant becomes the “Box of Agreement,” however, something needs to give.

The Easy-to-Read Children’s Bible text is straightforward and uncluttered by in-text features like sidebars.  Some study Bibles for kids have so many of these they can be more distracting than helpful, so I tend to like a clear text.  The cover is attractive and full-color glossy illustrations of Bible stories are inserted in the text.  These are engaging enough but not especially artistic–more like animated feature stills.  Appendices include 6 black and white and 3 full-color maps, an outline of Bible themes and references, and “Words to Live by” (key verses).  Except for the illustrations, added material is fairly standard for most Bibles not especially oriented to children.

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

Categories: Middle Grades, Christian, Bibles and Bible Stories

Cover image from amazon.com