The Bible Alive Series
From SPARK
One-sentence summary
Six-book series of short children's stories that tell of different parts of Jesus' life and ministry.
Description
Individual titles for this Bible Alive series are as follows:
- Jesus the Child
- Jesus the Healer
- Jesus the Miracle Worker
- Jesus the Teacher
- Jesus the Story-teller
- Jesus the Saviour
This series of six books was written to introduce young children to Jesus. It goes through the key elements of the life of Jesus – his teachings, his miracles, the healings, the stories, the birth, death, and resurrection. Except for some notable problems discussed below, the pictures are accurate in showing the people and places of that time. The pictures allow the child to see the stories as Jesus may well have seen them happen. Sometimes the child will seem to be in the middle of a crowd. Sometimes the child looks in through the stable door. Sometimes the child will seem to be watching from the roof of a Bethlehem house as the shepherds run through the town telling everyone that they meet the Savior of the world that has been born! Each page has an illustration and one or two sentences about the illustration. The final page of each short book tells where the stories can be found in the Bible.
Considerations
- The illustrations are realistic and the script simple and understandable for young children.
- Different ethnic peoples are shown in the pictures. Especially noteworthy are the title page and final page for Jesus the Saviour.
- Much of the time Jesus is not actually pictured, rather the people he is talking with, or about are pictured. When he is pictured, he is a normal-looking man, not pious or effeminate.
- Unlike some pictures in other books, Jesus is not always seen wearing the same clothes.
Limitations
- Some of the pictures are from a bird's eye view and might cause confusion for children and adults who are not picture literate.
- The script does not always clearly describe the picture and sometimes it is hard to tell who is the key person.
- At least one picture of Jesus shows him looking angry after the woman touches the hem of his cloak in the crowd. (Jesus the Healer).
- Unfortunately the pictures do not always show Jesus looking like the same person.
- A serious problem is present on the two pages describing the healing of blind Bartimaeus. The artist has shown Jesus as a woman! (Jesus the Healer).
- In the book Jesus the Miracle Worker, the artist has done a poor job of showing the feeding of the four thousand. Only eight people are pictured. Yet in the story of the feeding of five thousand the picture gives the impression of a large crowd.
- When showing the picture of Jesus as a child in the temple (Jesus the Child), the picture would be difficult for a child to understand because the boy Jesus is not shown. Only shown are the parents of Jesus and the teachers in the temple.
- The artists' attempts to make the pictures unique, as if from what Jesus saw, would need to be explained to many children and might be difficult for them to understand.
Guidelines for Use
- These books are short enough to be adapted as filmstrips.
- These books are for children ages 4-7 years.
Where to Obtain
Link to Producer or Source Organization
Christian Focus Publications Ltd
Cost
1.99 (GBP) as of August 2007
Producer/Owners
Author/Artist/Producer
Author: Carine Mackenzie
Illustrator: Jeff Anderson
Current copyright owner
Christian Focus Publications Ltd
Other Information
If you are interested in translating these stories and making them appropriate for a minority language, contact Christian Focus Publications Ltd. Together, you will need to work out a Creative Commons License.
Reviewed by
Vida, VMS Children's Resource Coordinator
Date
August 17, 2007
