Hey Kidmin and NextGen friends. I need a favor. Hopefully in helping me, you’ll help yourself or at least help hundreds of others who need this same resource. So, let’s do a little crowdsourcing project. Are you ready?

I’m sure you get asked this question or similar questions all the time. “What Bible do you recommend for my 7 year old? Do you have a devotional that you recommend for my 10 year old?” You name the age, I get the question and I’m sure you’re the same.

So, I’m trying to put together a short list. The emphasis on “short.” I know that there are hundreds of incredible resources, but I know that it is easy to overwhelm a parent. I want to make it simple which means making it more likely a parent will find it helpful. So, I want to put together a list of Bibles and Bible Resources for 0-18 years of age. When a parent says, “What Bible do you recommend for my 2 year old,” what would you recommend? I know that there are some Bibles that play to the boys or the girls when they get older. What is at the top of your list?

Okay, let me throw this out there first. If you are reading this, you might very well disagree with one of my suggestions or someone else’s. That’s okay because my list may not be your list. However, my list might influence your list in some parts and your list might influence my list in other parts. Feel free to disagree in the comments, your argument might actually present a great point and change my mind. I have thick skin, so feel free to say what you need to say.

Oh, and here’s an opinion I hold. You may disagree, and that’s fine. I had a King James Bible when I was in kindergarten. I used it almost every day while attending an independent Baptist School. I actually learned a lot from it. However, I don’t think I would actually recommend a full text Bible to a child until older elementary at the earliest. I think there are some incredible picture and storybook Bibles that help kids fall in love with God’s word when they’re best engaged by stories (isn’t that primarily they way Jesus taught anyway). As kids get older, I think they can start moving toward a full text Bible, but maybe even in conjunction with the stories. My six year old is learning all the books of the Bible right now, but it may still be years before he has his own Bible with all of these books. So, this is why you may not see full text Bibles in my list until the later ages.

Here’s the list I’ve got so far:

Baby’s First Bible Stories (Ages 0-2)
Baby’s Hug a Bible (Ages 0-3)
Read With Me Bible for Toddlers (Ages 2-5)
Read with Me Bible (Ages 4-8)
Jesus Storybook Bible (Ages 4-8)
Day by Day Begin to Read Bible (Ages 4-8)
Day by Day Bible (Ages 7-10)
The Action Bible (Ages 9-15)
NIV Boys Bible (Ages 9-12)
NIV Faithgirlz! Bible (Ages 9-12)
One Minute Bible for Students (Ages 13-18)
NIV Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys (Ages 12-18)
NIV True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls (Ages 12-18)

Okay, your turn now!