Bible Biographies with Kingdom Files – Review

For the past few years, I’ve been trying to figure out how to help my kids learn more about the Bible.  Not just how to read and study the Bible for themselves, but how to teach them that and more – like how to piece together information, how to use those great pages at the front of books, etc.  Those pieces are great, but they can also be hard to use and to understand.

 

That’s why I was really excited to review two Kingdom Files books, Who Was Jonah? and Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus?  Produced by Barbour Publishing, these books are easy-to-read biographies written for kids in the eight-to-twelve years’ range.  The font features clean lines and the pages have simple graphics and clipart that add visual interest, breaking up large sections of text and making the book very kid friendly.  They really remind me a lot of the popular Who Was? series.

The books are formatted very specifically.  The first section is called the Fact File.  It has a timeline, key facts, and summarizes the most important information about the title person.

The next section is the Action File.  This part makes up the majority of the book.  It is written in small, simple chapters, walking the reader through the life of the title figure.  Scripture is referenced so that the reader can look it up, and extra special information is pulled out into special boxes titled “Clues.”  This draws attention to key information.  This section also includes simple maps and black-and-white illustrations.  The Action File isn’t strictly fact-based, as the author also explains what scripture means and puts it into context in this section.  For example, in Mary’s book, he fills in missing information by sharing what may have happened based on what we know about the culture and society, or things like distances and travel times, such as how long it may have taken Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

The final section in each book is the Power File.  This contains a series of Power Ups, each with a memory verse.  The Power Ups are small devotions, key points about each person that you can apply to your own life.

I really like these books.  I love how they share really important information about key Biblical figures and how they go beyond the single-story format.  They’re great for kids in the older elementary grades, but if you have strong readers, they could easily be read and understood by younger kids, too.  They are excellent resources for families, homeschools, or church libraries, and at only $4.99 per book, they’re very affordable.

Who Was Jonah? shares a great deal of information about why Jonah didn’t want to visit Nineveh as God instructed.  The author does a great job of telling readers about Jonah’s world and the way that people would have interacted.

Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? was my favorite, though.  I really enjoyed the way that the author told the story of Mary, not drawing only from one Gospel book, but from the entire story.  It walks the reader through what is known about Mary’s life carefully, explaining her actions against the backdrop of culture and history.

I’ve been looking for great resources for the youth program I work with, and these Kingdom Files books definitely fit the bill.  If you work with kids, check these out.  I think you’ll like them.