Bible Review: NIV Faithgirlz! Bible

NIV Faithgirlz! Bible.  Zonderkidz, 2012, 1504 page. 

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-12 (especially girls!)

Bottom Line: The Faithgirlz! Bible, geared to tween girls, includes some thoughtful devotional features, but takes an almost exclusively subjective approach to scripture.

If the boys have one, the girls gotta have one, too.  Faithgirlz! is available in a variety of covers and variations of pink, and the features capitalize uniquely on the verbal and relational leanings of girls.  The
“Dream Girl” feature, for instance, uses description and dialogue to help readers imagine themselves in the Bible story.  “Bring It On” poses short self-evaluation quizzes with Bible references for the reader to look up depending on her answer.  “In Your Own Words” encourages rewriting and journaling.  Other features are more standard: memory verses, Bible facts, and book introductions.

Features are written by Nancy Rue, and I find them uneven: some are thoughtful and useful while others fall too much on the gushy side (e.g., “God created everything, but his most special creation . . . is you”).  An excess of subjectivity suffuses these pages.  Even the character sketches attempt to relate directly to the reader: “Is There a Little of You in . . . (Abraham, Ruth, Moses, etc)”?  I lean away from this over-personalized approach to scripture: God does speak to us personally through his word, and every reader must learn to ponder the scriptures for herself.  But too much “God and me,” and we begin to loose a sense of God’s awesomeness and otherness.

Overall Rating: 3 (out of 5)

Categories: Middle Grades, Bibles and Bible Stories, Christian