Looking for an easy-to-read-aloud Bible story book? The Read and Share Bible (Tommy Nelson, 2007), stories retold by Gwen Ellis and illustrated by Steve Smallman, is a good book to introduce a little one to over 200 Bible stories.
Starting with Genesis and going through Revelation each story includes a Bible reference. I especially appreciated the commentary at the end of each two page spread–these either had a challenge, i.e. “But can you guess what was missing?,” or a statement, “Let’s see how Solomon’s wisdom helped two women,” to lead into the next story. It makes for good page turning. Plus the illustrations are delightful. One of my favorites is of a frog scratching his head over the iron ax that Elisha made float.
Don’t be surprised if a child wants to read more than one story at a sitting.
This book is also a helpful overview for anyone wanting a quick read of many well-known and lesser known stories from the Bible.
If you’d like to see excerpts, the publisher has set up a Facebook page with downloadable excerpts that change periodically.
There’s also a Spanish version and a DVD version. Volumn 2 of the DVD version comes out next month (Feb. 2011).