The Best Toddler Bible for Toddlers of All Ages
“The end!” I emphasized as I closed the book. “Now it’s time for our Bible story.”
“Yay!” my 3-year-old immediately exclaimed, while my 1-year-old, who’d barely made it through the last book, started to climb down.
Despite my older son’s enthusiasm, he soon started to roll around on the couch.
How was I to teach them about The Bible at this age? I started researching but struggled to find a solid approach to introduce The Bible to toddlers.
So, I created my own with the Bibles that worked for each stage. I want to share this simple process with you, along with the best Bibles I’ve found for each stage of toddlerhood, so you can easily begin reading The Bible with your toddler.
The Best Toddler Bible for Toddlers of All Ages
Age-Appropriate Bibles
The term toddler tends to be used for different age ranges. Some classify toddlers as 1-3, and others as 1-5. With that said, I’m providing you with the best Bibles for children from 1-5 years old, which can’t be one Bible. The age range and varying levels of learning are too broad.
With that said, I focused on stages instead of ages. If your 4-year-old has never been introduced to The Bible, I suggest starting at stage 1, even though that Bible may seem too simple.
It’s never too late to start reading the Bible to your child. Here’s my method to begin.
Start Here: Stage 1
His/Her First Bible* is a great option to start with. It’s a simple rhyming Bible with a picture and a rhyme for each Biblical narrative. It includes stories from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It also makes a great gift since it’s made for boys and girls. (The content is exactly the same.)
For example:
Noah made a boat.
And God made it float
When the water covered
The earth like a coat.
Carlson 2001
It may seem overly simple, but poetry is a good way to introduce the Bible to little minds. Poetry has been proven to help younger kids grasp complex ideas.
Poetry sets up an abstract system of order and harmony; the rhythm and the rhyme scheme are logical structures that a child can comprehend even before he understands the words themselves, just as he can grasp the rhythmic and harmonic relations of a piece of music.
Beran 2004
These simple rhymes set a great foundation that can be built on with more complex children’s Bibles.
How to Use This Bible
Start by reading through the stories and examining the pictures. Once your child can speak well, have him memorize the poem.
Introduce one new poem a day and revisit it each day, reciting the poem from memory. Memorization helps children understand complex language (Beran 2004) and it gives your toddler a foundation to build on.
Move on to stage 2 once all the stories have been memorized.
The Next Step: Stage 2
“This story is about Noah,” I said as I opened the Bible. “Remember Noah? What do we know about him?”
“Noah made a boat. And God made it float / When the water covered / The earth like a coat,” he recited.
Now that you’ve set the foundation, moving on to more complex Bibles will be simple.
My favorite Bible for this next stage is The Rhyme Bible Storybook. This is another rhyming Bible, which I still love at this stage because early education studies have shown that rhymes impact learning and retention (Read et al., 2014).
This Bible devotes a few pages and full-page illustrations to each story. Your toddler will remember these stories better than you do!
The one downside to this Bible is that it includes short Bible stories but doesn’t cover the full Bible. The Bible ends with Pentecost. I still think it’s an excellent choice for this stage because the next stage will fill in those gaps.
How to Use This Bible
- Read one story a day/week.
- Talk about the images and talk about the story.
Moving Forward: Stage 3
Now that your toddler has a good foundation, you can move into some of the great Bible storybooks. My two favorites for this age are The Jesus Storybook Bible and The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible.
The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Llyod-Jones focuses on Jesus throughout the Bible. It highlights His role in creation and God’s plan to redeem the world through Him from the beginning to the end. With a strong storyline and beautiful illustrations, it’s a great choice for older kids (3-5+).
The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible by Doris Wynbeek Rikkers (illustrated by Fernando Juarez) does the same thing with the Holy Spirit. It highlights each part of the Bible where anything is spoken about The Spirit of God. It’s a great choice to see the hand of God throughout The Bible, and I love that it includes scripture references and excerpts.
I love this one because it helps both younger children and older children recognize that God was present through all of the historical events of the Bible. It’s easy to get lost in the stories, but this Bible reminds us that the Bible is God’s story.
Alongside these storybook Bibles, introduce your toddler to actual scripture verses. Have them memorize Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, and helpful and relevant scriptures. For example, you might have them memorize Ephesians 4:32 and recite it when they fight with their sibling.
How to Use This Bible
- One story a day (great for bedtime reading)
- Alternate between the two Bibles
- Discuss each reading, but don’t stress about your child getting everything.
- Read and memorize Bible verses/passages
And Beyond
After the toddler years are over, this foundation will allow you to introduce more complex Bibles and Bible curriculums with discussion questions. It will even give your child the context to study verses and passages from the actual Bible and will lay the foundation for understanding the Bible later on.
I hope your toddler grows from the introduction of these great toddler Bibles and that you aren’t intimidated by being a Bible teacher to your small children.
Other Reviewed Bibles
There are a lot of Bibles out there for little kids, and deciding which ones are great is hard. These are the ones that didn’t make my list of recommendations. Either because they are too simple or too complex for this age, they don’t stay true to God’s word, or aren’t done well. Some may be good, but the ones I recommend above are better for this specific age group.
- The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories
- The Toddler’s Bible V. Gilbert Beers
- The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible Janice Emmerson
- The Biggest Story Bible Storybook Kevin DeYoung (this one’s great for 6+)
- The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden Kevin DeYoung
- The Bible in Pictures for Toddlers Ella K. Lindvall
- 5 Minute Bible Stories
- The Illustrated Bible for Little Ones Janice Emmerson
- The Promises of God Storybook Bible: The Story of God’s Unstoppable Love Jennifer Lyell
- The Story for Little Ones: Discover the Bible in Pictures Josee Masse
References
Beran, M. K. (2004). In defense of memorization. City Journal, 14(3), 71-80.
Mullen, G. (2017). More than words: Using nursery rhymes and songs to support domains of child development. Journal of Childhood Studies, 42-53.
Read, K., Macauley, M., & Furay, E. (2014). The Seuss boost: Rhyme helps children retain words from shared storybook reading. First Language, 34(4), 354-371.
