Children’s Discipleship Round-Up with Beka Simmons
I love a good book, especially one that stirs my affections for Jesus, encourages my faith, or helps me better understand God’s character. Though reading for myself is one of my favorite hobbies, I get genuinely giddy over reading good books to my children. Books that help till the soil in a child’s heart and mind for the Word of the Lord to be planted and grow. I know that God alone saves, but I also know that he loves to use people and their resources to play a small part in his saving work of others. I pray that reading good books to my kids–books about the gospel, about faithful missionaries, and storybook bibles– will all serve to plant seeds of faith so that one day, when Lord-willing, God brings the growth, they may bear a fruitful harvest!
This list is by no means exhaustive, and the ages of my children means that I’m mostly familiar with books geared toward birth through early elementary. Praise God for all the authors using their gifts to create such wonderful resources!
Tales that Tell the Truth Series
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Website: https://www.thegoodbook.com/series/tales-that-tell-the-truth/?sort=default
All 15 books in this series focus on a true story from the Bible and are infused with gospel truths throughout. They are wonderfully engaging for kids and adults alike. The illustrations are beautiful and diverse. The last page of each book has a little parent note with scripture references for further reflection or discussion with your child. The hardback books are geared for 3-6 year olds; the series also has some board books and activity books.
Training Young Heart Series
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Website: https://www.thegoodbook.com/series/training-young-hearts/
We love the training young hearts series. They teach about behavior in a way that not only shows Jesus as our example but shows how the gospel and God’s grace actually enable us to live by his design. The board books are great for toddlers with flaps to lift on every page. The rhyming story books are geared toward children over 3.
Amy Gannett Board Books on Theology
Publisher: B&H
Website: https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/product/does-god-sleep/
These board books are so fun! They rhyme throughout, have bright illustrations, and teach deep truths about the doctrine of God in ways even toddlers can understand.
Jesus Storybook Bible
Publisher: ZonderKidz
Website: https://www.zonderkidz.com/book/9780310708254/the-jesus-storybook-bible/
My former pastor recommended this book as the best book to help us understand how the Bible is one big story; I couldn’t agree more. It is a fantastic resource, beautifully written to help kids and adults alike understand key stories from the Bible through the lens of the coming Christ.
Good News for Little Hearts Series
Publisher: New Growth Press
This series is inspired by the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation and uses sweet animal stories to illustrate biblical truths about behaviors and emotions such as how to cope with anxiety, how to grieve the loss of a loved one, and what to do when it’s hard to tell the truth. These are geared for children ages 4 to 7 and the back of each book has reflection questions and information for parents shepherding their kids through these types of situations.
Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible by Joanna Rivard and Tim Penner
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Website: https://tinytruthsbible.com/
This is another favorite storybook Bible of ours. We love how it keeps three simple truths of the metanarrative central: who God is, who we are, and what we were made for. There are free coloring pages and bible story worksheets on the website available for download.
Do Great Things For God Series
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Website: https://www.thegoodbook.com/series/do-great-things-for-god/
We love these biographies of faithful Christians of the past. They display how God loves to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things and encourages children to dream big for the kingdom. The website also has free worksheets to go alongside each book.
The Gospel Story Bible (and The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible)
Publisher: New Growth Press
Website: https://newgrowthpress.com/search-results-page?q=gospel%20story%20bible
We love these story Bibles at our house; the Beginner’s is geared toward toddlers/preschoolers and the regular version for elementary kids. The Beginner’s has 52 stories, simple illustrations and a question to help engage kids after each story. With 156 stories, the regular version is a great transitional story bible for elementary kids before reading all of scripture. We love that each story has 3 questions at the end to help aid family discussion.
Love Made by Quina Aragon
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Website: https://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/books/love-made-9780736974363
This is such a beautiful book that helps explain some profound truths about the trinity, creator, and the imago dei in ways that even a toddler can understand. It has a poetic feel to it and engaging illustrations, sure to be a family favorite!
Who Sang the First Song by Ellie Holcomb
Publisher: B&H Kids
Website: https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/product/who-sang-the-first-song-3/who-sang-the-first-song/
Singer/songwriter Ellie Holcomb explores the answer to this childlike question in a beautifully rhythmic and rhyming way. In fact, she wrote a wonderful song to go along with the book so be sure to check that out too! My daughter loves to turn on the song and flip through the pages as she “reads.”
