Bible Review: Adventure Bible NIV

Adventure Bible, NIV.  Zondervan, 2013 (latest edition), 1459 pages. 

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 6-12

Bottom Line: The Adventure Bible set an early standard for children’s Bibles that has been surpassed by other versions and editions, but it’s still useful for beginners encountering scripture for the first time.

This is the best-selling Bible for kids, hands down.  Physical features include two-column format, standard type (8-9 point), slightly thicker pages and a safari theme that incorporates brown type for the major text and green for headings and chapter and verse numbers.  The newer editions have full-color illustrations throughout, but illustration is not the main selling point–most are adornments to the supplementary features.

Those features have become standard in children’s Bibles ever since the Adventure Bible first appeared in 1989.  Each book is introduced in a 5-W format (Who wrote it, What it’s about, etc.).  In-text features include Words to Treasure (memory verses), Did You Know? (definitions, facts, common questions about the content), Live It! (applications and activities), People in Bible Times, and Life in Bible Times.  Full-color inserts include lists of prophets, Bible kids, Life of Jesus, verse applications, and more along that line.  The features are indexed in the Appendix, which also includes the ever-present Dictionary/Concordance, an activities index, and maps.  A “map index” provides little study guides for looking up places and learning more about them.

The study and application features are written from a broadly evangelical viewpoint with an emphasis on godly behavior and right action.  There’s not much depth or detail, but the Adventure Bible is adequate for basic understanding–and if you want a closer look you can find it just about anywhere.

Overall rating: 3.5

Categories: Middle Grades, Bibles and Bible Storybooks, Christian

NOTE: the Adventure Bible for Early Readers, NIrV (Zonderkidz, latest edition 2014) is for younger readers, but the features are almost exactly the same.  Go here and scroll down for more about the NIrV translation.

 Cover image from amazon.com