Favorite Biblical Picture Book Series: Blogpost #17

Just in time to fill your Amazon cart and receive packages on your doorstep for filling Easter baskets…I wanted to share with you all my all time favorite Biblical picture book series: Tales that Tell the Truth. As a Momma and literacy instructional coach, finding beautifully illustrated and written faith based books is a huge passion for me. Sometimes it can seem like the picture books on the market are mostly written for younger children, but the Tales that Tell the Truth series is highly engaging for a wide age range of children. The authors take rich, theologically important concepts such as sin, forgiveness, the resurrection, Jesus as Messiah, and trusting who God says He is, and communicate these truths in a way that children and adults can both grow through exploring the content. These types of books aren’t just helpful for children, they can be a game changer for us as adults, too!  It wasn’t until I was in my mid twenties when I was reading aloud the Jesus Storybook Bible to Mackenzie and Juliana that I started grasping how all of the Bible points to Jesus and the rescue plan that God set into motion to save us from our sins starting in the very first book of the Bible. After seeing these beautiful connections throughout all of scripture, I have fallen in love with the Bible and carve out time to dig deeper into the truth daily. Once you get started seeing the beautiful connections in the Bible, you won’t want to stop learning!

 If you feel a little uncertain with how to start faith based conversations with your children, because you aren’t sure how it all connects yet, this could be a great starting place for you, too!  At the end of each book, the author gives an extra note to parents that explains where to find the original story in the Bible and how the story’s ideas connect to Biblical truth. If you need a few ideas to fill your Easter baskets, here are my top 3 books from the series that are great for Easter that you might want to check out:

1. The Garden, The Curtain, and the Cross: The True Story of Why Jesus Died and Rose Again by Carl Laferton. If your children have ever wondered how the Old Testament and New Testament fit together, this book beautifully articulates how the Garden of Eden, the Jewish Temple, and Jesus dying on the cross fit together into one big rescue story of how God had a plan from the beginning to rescue us from our sins and reunite us to Him. I have shared this story with toddlers through fifth graders, both at home with my children and through teaching Vacation Bible School and Sunday School, and every child I have read it to has thoroughly enjoyed and grown from the ways Carl Laferton connects the overarching themes of the Bible. 
2. The Friend Who Forgives: A True Story about How Peter Failed and Jesus Forgave by Dan DeWitt. In this story, Peter’s perspective of becoming a friend of Jesus, a close follower of Jesus, a denier of Jesus, and a forgiven follower of Jesus is told in a way that children grasp how all of those seasons in Peter’s life fit together. They learn that just as Jesus forgave Peter, Jesus continues to forgive us today. This would be a great addition for Easter, because through this storytelling you see how the gospels, Acts, and Peter’s writings fit together through Peter’s perspective and shape how the early church was formed. 

3. Jesus and the Very Big Surprise: A True Story about Jesus, His Return, and How to Be Ready by Randall Goodgame. This story illustrates the parable in Luke 12 that Jesus taught how we need to be ready for His return. With practical examples, Randall Goodgame helps inspire families how we can wait with anticipation for Jesus’ return and help others want to be ready, too. This would be a great addition for Easter to communicate to your children that Jesus rising from the dead on Easter is only the beginning! He has created us with a purpose to tell as many people we can about the hope we have in Jesus. Our rescuer has come! Let’s tell everyone how they can experience freedom from sin and the love of God that never ends, too!

Friends, I am curious about which one of these titles stands out to you and what other books that you have experienced with your children that have helped shape their faith? Let’s continue to use beautiful books to paint the picture of the faithfulness of our Lord and celebrate the fact that He lives, and He is coming again!