The Jesus Storybook Bible

The Missus and I were in a bookshop this afternoon and stumbled upon the Jesus Storybook Bible. We were looking for a bible for Reubs, who is turning two in a few weeks. Although this Bible is clearly for ages 4 and above, we thought we'd get this one anyway and all grow into it.

The first thing that caught our eyes was the tag line - every story whispers His name. This simple phrase drew us in - what a joy to have that emphasized throughout the whole book. The second thing was the book is gorgeous to look at. The cover is simply a picture of Jesus, a delightful foretaste of the style used throughout the rest of the book's illustrations.

Those two things along were enough for us to take a punt on it. (We plumped for the 'deluxe' edition, which comes bundled with the audio version of the book - narrated by David Suchet.)

When we got it home Reuben took no time in insisting that we unwrap it and read it to him. Well, he quickly tired of it (being only small), but we were rapt. In no time at all we were playing the audiobook and falling in love with Jesus all over again as we heard the old familiar stories in a new way. The book is actually a paraphrase of key Bible passages, and covers the whole sweep of the Biblical narrative. It is beautifully illustrated, and I can't wait to explore the images with Reuben as his attention develops. The audiobook is a great accompaniment; a good narrator can highlight facets of the text that you might not see, and this is exactly what Suchet does. In summary, these adults are pretty impressed with this children's version, and it's going to be our real pleasure to introduce Reuben to the Great Big Story in this way.

Every story whispers his name.

An old favourite

Disobedience by A. A. Milne

James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he;
"You must never go down
to the end of the town,
if you don't go down with me."

James James
Morrison's Mother
Put on a golden gown.
James James Morrison's Mother
Drove to the end of the town.
James James Morrison's Mother
Said to herself, said she:
"I can get right down
to the end of the town
and be back in time for tea."

King John
Put up a notice,
"LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES MORRISON'S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN
TO THE END OF THE TOWN -
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!"

James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he:
"You must never go down to the end of the town
without consulting me."

James James
Morrison's mother
Hasn't been heard of since.
King John said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John
(Somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew:
If people go down to the end of the town, well,
what can anyone do?"

(Now then, very softly)
J.J.
M.M.
W.G.Du P.
Took great
C/0 his M*****
Though he was only 3.
J.J. said to his M*****
"M*****," he said, said he:
"You-must-never-go-down-to-the-end-of-the-town-
if-you-don't-go-down-with-ME!"

Talk-ing

Two days ago, as we sat eating our breakfast, Reuben gestured with his fork and declared he was 'fork-ing' a morsel of food. I thought this was pretty cool, since neither Nic nor I use the verb 'forking' at all and he must have come up with it by himself.

It's amazing to think how quickly he has developed in just under two years.

Barry Pumpkin

Our dentist surgery takes Hallowe'en very seriously - on the Friday before Hallowe'en all the staff were in fabulous fancy dress. They had also decorated this squash with a cute smily face. Reuben noticed it straight away and, since they are lovely people, they gave it to him. (I actually suspect that since it was the day before Hallowe'en they going to get rid of it anyway, but hey, who's going to turn down a free squash?)

We named him Barry, after our dentist.

A rainy weekend's walk

Reubs and I had some father/son time last weekend. We took a stroll around Kinder Farm Park in the rain, watching some football (boys) and some soccer (girls) on the way around. I thought it was a pretty miserable day to be out and about, but it didn't phase him one bit as he galumphed through puddles and driving drizzle.

Tower

Reubs discovered the joy of stacking blocks last night (thanks to his mate Abi, who emptied the box of blocks all over the floor). I thought this attempt (his first) incorporated some unorthodox shapes quite inventively.