Picture This

Picture this:

You and your hubby sit down to have Bible time with the kids and they climb all over each other to be able to sit in Daddy’s lap. One winds up on the chair arm, another draped across the back of it over Daddy’s shoulders, and a third in his lap. They all can’t wait to be a part of Bible Study Time,

After all, they love to sing a Bible song each day, and they enjoy the stories and the Bible verses they are learning. They also love the new Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary you received from Lifeway Publishers, and find reasons to have to look up something new in it each time you study together, jockeying for key positions so they can see the vibrant pictures and excellent maps inside.
 

This time the discussion is about promises and how God always keeps His promises…”Do you always keep your promises?” asks Daddy. One of the children sadly admits to not keeping a promise to not eat during prayer time before a meal the night before, and is very sorry about it.,



You look up prayers together in the illustrated dictionary (which lists reasons to pray and Biblical examples of prayer) and talk about the importance of being respectful and serious during prayer time. The children all agree that they will try harder to quietly pray before meals from now on…without sneaking bites before the “amen.” How special!



It’s a nice word picture, don’t you think? The kids are enthusiastic about learning about God’s word, they are enjoying you and each other’s company, they are each eagerly participating, and they seem just plain happy?

This experience did happen in our house a just a few days ago. I am not saying that this product is the only reason for the pretty image I just painted, but I will honestly tell you that the book added to, rather than took away from, our Bible-learning experiences.

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Here is what we liked about the book, and about receiving this order from Lifeway.

• We received our package almost immediately and it was in good condition. We were thrilled when we opened the package and found such a lovely book inside.
• The book is a large, colorful, hardcover book with very sturdy pages.
• The book defines 750 important Biblical terms with family-friendly definitions written in easy-to-read print.
• There are 500 colorful illustrations, maps, reconstructions, and photos included to make the definitions of some terms even more clear, such as a reconstruction of Rome and a photo of a Jewish man wearing frontlets (have your kids ever asked what a frontlet it? Mine have and while I could tell them what it was, showing them was even better…for all of us!).

• The book includes numerous different charts explaining/showing things such as the Names of God, the Twelve Apostles, the plants and animals of the Bible, and the Armor of a Roman soldier.

• Each definition makes references to appropriate passages of scripture where the term is used. Tex was randomly flipping through the book and saw that "Ostrich" was mentioned as an animal in the Bible so he HAD to look that up…sure enough, the ostrich is spoken of in Job as being a VERY bad parent, but fast to ride!
• There is a pronunciation guide for the words that are hard to say, as well as clarification of terms that might be different in the KJV of the Bible (such as self-control vs. temperance).
• At $14.95 for such a large, well-made, useful book, it is a good price.

Here’s what we especially loved about this book:

• I REALLY liked the vibrant pictures, in the style of old-fashioned Bible story books, rather than the cartoon-y illustrations you often find in children’s Bible books today.
• I appreciated the mix of realistic illustrations and actual photographs and maps. It was meaningful to me to see photos of some of the actual places where certain Biblical events occurred. It helped the kids picture the stories in their Bible Study better, especially when there were maps or reconstructions of places we were reading about.

• I enjoyed the opportunity to introduce the children to using a Bible Dictionary, one of the tools we make use of as adults. This company also offers the Holman Bible Concordance for Children, which while not illustrated, looks like it would be a good introduction to using a concordance, and a useful companion to their Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids.
• It is quite durable. I did not have to worry when the younger ones used it, as the pages are extra-thick, and we did not have any tears or crinkles the entire time we have been using it.
• The older kids found the information and pictures contained inside to be so interesting, they would just pick up the dictionary and start reading to see what they could find out that they did not know. I liked that.

Was there anything we did not like about this book?         

Not really. There were one or two “typos” involving pictures (in one case, a dove is shown when a sparrow is indicated…oops!), but they are not HUGE ones, and overall, I would rate the quality of content and production for this book as excellent. The service we received in getting the product to us was good, and when checking out the Lifeway site itself, I found it easy to navigate (though I did not actually have to order anything).

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If you are interested in seeing an “Inside the Book” preview of the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids you can click HERE.

If  you are interested in ordering this book from Lifeway Bookstores for $14.95 plus shipping and handling, click HERE.

To see what other reviewers on the TOS Crew thought about this book, click HERE.



**I highly recommend this book. My family will enjoy using it for years to come.

Blessings,
Heather
I received this book free of charge from Lifeway Christian Stores in return for my honest review of this product on my blog. If you have questions regarding this product that I did not answer here, please feel free to contact me.