Heroes and Villains of the Bible

Heroes and Villains of the Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011. ISBN 978-1400316854.

The Bible text included in this book is from the International Children's Bible (ICB), a close relative of the New Century Version. It is very simple to read. I was surprised how much of the text was included. This is more of a selection of Bible texts with pictures that a story book. The ICB is not suitable for Bible study or adult reading. But since this is just selection of stories it should not be a problem.

The book consists of 50 Bible passages with devotional material. There are 16 Old Testament heroes, 9 Old Testament villains, 17 New Testament heroes and 8 New Testament villains.

At least one of the pictures could be considered borderline by some. There is a picture of Eve being tempted by the serpent. While it is not revealing, it is one of those that stops just short of being so. The picture of Daniel in the lions den has an amusing feature. It appears that Daniel and the male lion are looking at something together. The pictures are computer generated or designed. They do not look cartoonish, but almost like a real photo.

I would have like more insights and lessons along with the Biblical text. The extra material is very brief. It is a short devotional to accompany the text, not an actual study. But I was looking for a book to use in children's Bible study classes. This is obviously for a child's personal reading.

By picking out some of the heroic (and villainous) figures this might help capture the interest of children. It could be a good introduction to reading a full Bible. I plan to share this with some youngsters at church to see what they think about it.

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes. This did not affect my review in any way.

Heroes and Villains of the Bible