Many thanks to Lifeway Christian Resources for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

I first heard about the Grace Bible for Kids on Facebook a couple months ago — and the manufacturer didn’t have any pictures of the inside of the Bible on their website, which was a shame given its selling points. But now I have the opportunity to review it, so I get to show you what it’s like. 🙂 (They’ve updated their site since then, though, so you can see additional images there, too.)

I’m going to start out by saying that the only thing I don’t love about this Bible is that it only comes in one translation. I really wish translations weren’t so proprietary, because not everyone uses the same one. The CSB is a good translation. But I generally recommend that people buy their newer readers Bibles that match the translation used by their families or churches because that makes it easier to follow along. And CSB is rarely the translation of choice for any churches outside of the Southern Baptist Convention. (This Bible is produced by the SBC’s associated publishing company, so it’s their translation.)

With that said, it is a good translation, and this Bible has some great features, especially for those with dyslexia or similar/related learning challenges, or even just for newer readers.

Grace Bible for Kids

The first and possibly most obvious feature to note is the font. This is a clear, reader-friendly font — and it’s a good size. I usually buy my kids large-print, or even giant-print, Bibles, because Bibles are typically printed in really small fonts that present an additional challenge to new readers or those who have difficulty reading (either because of their brains or their eyes). The font in this one is simple and clear, with plenty of white space, so things don’t blur together as readily.

This also is a very streamlined Bible, without a lot of fluff, fancy (extraneous) formatting, or colorful “stuff” filling the pages. This, too, is what I usually look for in a Bible for kids — simplicity, with little to distract from the actual Word of God. A lot of children’s Bibles are very visually “dynamic,” though, with lots of “extra” information, often in full color. We prefer simplicity just so the focus is on the text of Scripture, but for a child with dyslexia, this is extra-important because high-visual-impact extras can make it hard to read the text of Scripture.

The one area where this might be a negative trade-off for some people is footnotes. There are (by design) no footnotes of any kind in this Bible — not even the typical translation notes. Not only would the notes themselves potentially be distracting; the superscript letters that indicate  the notes can be confusing. (We’ve run into this with my youngest daughter. She’s only just started reading this year, and she sometimes stumbles over a word during our family worship time if there’s a footnote, because it looks like that letter is part of the word.)

Study Aids

The Grace Bible does have some additional helps — in color, even. But they’re kept completely separate from the main text; they’re on their own separate pages. Most are plain black text on a colored page, and the formatting for these, too, is kept very simple. It’s also highly-relevant: things like lists of the books in a particular genre/section of the Bible, with brief summaries.

A couple full-color inserts are included. There are a couple of maps which, in more logical fashion than the way most Bibles are laid out, are with the books they go to. e.g. Paul’s missionary journeys is a map in Acts. The standard maps are also included at the back of the Bible as usual.

One feature that some readers might not want is a visual timeline of Jesus’ life. Because this is colored images, if you hold to the view that images of Jesus are idolatry, this will obviously be bothersome. This timeline happens to be on a two-page spread that’s the “inside” pages of a two-sheet insert, so if this is a concern for you, it would be very easy to just glue those pages together so the timeline is no longer visible.

There’s a list of Bible study skills, too, which is fantastic! (B&H, any chance of our getting that list as a freestanding printable checklist?)

Dyslexia Aids

I mentioned that the font is very readable. It’s not only a simple font; it’s specifically designed to be readable. Holman Bibles, 2K/DENMARK and Cambridge University collaborated to create a font that includes “distinct letter forms and added space between letters, words, lines, and paragraphs,” for a result that’s been academically tested and found to improve readability.

This Bible also comes with colored overlays. A lot of dyslexic symptoms are caused by — or similar to — something known as “Irlen syndrome.” It’s related to visual processing, and one of the things researchers have discovered is that many individuals who struggle with this type of visual processing can read better if colored overlays are used. It changes the contrast and the way the visual input is processed in the brain, and with overlays in the right color(s), reading is easier.

The Grace Bible for Kids includes its own set of colored overlays, just the right size to fit over the pages. It would be nice if there were a pocket or elastic straps or something inside the Bible itself to store them between uses, but they do come in a cardboard pouch or envelope that’s built into the “slipcover”-type band the Bible comes packaged with. There are ten overlays, covering the entire color spectrum (and a grey, if I recall correctly). Of course, you can also use these overlays with other books you already have around the house!

Final Thoughts

I really, really like the Grace Bible for Kids as a beginner-friendly Bible — although, as previously noted, I’d love to see this also made available in some of the other common translations so families can buy it to “match” their church’s translation preference. Of course, if your child is struggling with reading due to dyslexia, this Bible would especially be a beneficial edition.

(There’s also an adult version available. I’m not sure how it differs. I know it has the same font, overlays, etc., but I don’t know if the additional study helps are different, or if it only has a more traditional, grownup-friendly cover.)

You can head over and buy your copy of the Grace Bible for Kids directly from Broadman & Holman. It’s also available at major retailers like Amazon and Christian Book Distributors.

Win It

Right now, you also have the opportunity to win a copy like mine — the blue LeatherTouch. (Imitation leather. We prefer this over hardcover, especially for kids, because the more flexible binding seems to hold up better against kids who aren’t always very gentle with it!)

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