Thanks to Kickstarter for helping me find this amazing new book for little ones!  Bible Basics: A Baby Believer Counting Primer incorporates the traditional style of a 1-10 counting book with foundational biblical truths to introduce babies and toddlers to theology.

The attention to detail is impressive, and the artwork is beautiful.  Online pictures don’t do it justice; it’s much lovelier in person.  The style is graphic, to grab babies’ attention, but it’s artistic, not overly simplistic as artwork for baby books often is.

I was pleased to note that the people in the pictures have mid-tone skin as would be expected of those native to the Middle East; they aren’t “white.”

(Yes, there are a couple pictures of Jesus, if that’s a concern for you.)

The concepts selected to accompany the numbers are very logical, and all of the key biblical “sets” (not exceeding 10) I can think of are included here.  1 God.  2 natures of Jesus.  3 persons of the Trinity.  4 gospels.  5 books in the Pentateuch.  6 days of Creation.  7 I AMs of Jesus.  8 Beatitudes.  9 fruits of the Spirit.  10 commandments.

As you can see, there are some key theological concepts there, and the only one where it might look like they had to try to find an appropriate match to the number is 7.

The artwork and the numbers with the ideas to go with them are adequate for the youngest babies, but there’s more detail on the pages for those who are a little older.  Each one is accompanied by either a Bible verse/passage, a quote from church history, or a brief explanation.  These are simple enough for children to understand, but not “dumbed down” or limited to John 3:16.  The ten commandments are summarized in simple language, but care was used to keep them accurate.  (My only accuracy complaint would be that I wish the blood stains on Jesus’ hands were on His wrists, rather than His palms.  Everything else is so remarkably well done, I can overlook that.)

You can order a copy from the publisher at Catechesis Books, or from Amazon.  If you order from the publisher, you can also pick up a coloring book version that has the blank artwork for your slightly-older children to color.

I’m hoping maybe they’ll tackle the Children’s Catechism next. 😉