This is the Year of the Bible for Family Formation users, and we’re doing all sorts of things to encourage families to grow in their love of the Word of God.   The most recent installment is our Bible Review Project – basically offering opinions and basic information on our growing collection of Bible options.  Christmas is a great time to receive a gift Bible, so before I pack up the project I’m going to share it here in a few installments.

Let’s begin with a couple of classics.  I just want to say up-front that these two had the best specifically Catholic content, by far.

• Title: New Catholic Picture Bible
• Publisher: Catholic Book Publishing Company
• Full Text or Bible Stories
• Protestant, Catholic, Good for Either
• Recommended Ages: Readers
• Pros: Excellent Catholic content.  There are extra bits of teaching text throughout to explain Catholic beliefs.  For example, the Crucifixion is told through the Stations of the Cross.
  • Excellent teachings on the Eucharist
  • Stories are typically limited to a page and there is an illustration to go with each
  • Used copies are readily available
  • An oldie but a goody!  This version has been in print since 1955 and is still available.
• Cons: Dated looking

• Title: The Catholic Children’s Bible
• Publisher: The Regina Press
• Full Text or Bible Stories
• Protestant, Catholic, Good for Either
• Recommended Ages: Elementary-aged readers
• Pros: Excellent Catholic content.
  • Stories are not long
  • An oldie but a goody!  This version has been in print for almost 40 years and is still available.
  • The language is a little more formal
  • I love the dedication: “A work of love offered to God for my good parents who were the first to instill into me a love for the Bible.”  (It’s our prayer that all your children can say the same about you one day!)
• Cons: Dated looking
  • The language is a little more formal (pro or con – you decide)