Printable Books of the Bible Summary Sheets {A Review}

I admit, although I know many Bible verses, can retell many Bible stories, and have no problem sharing Bible truths, if you named a book of the Bible and asked me to offer you a handful of its salient points, a summary of its stories, or highlights of its verses, I may not be able to do so on my own without some research and thought.  A quick look at Books of the Bible At-a-Glance by Teach Sunday School, though, can help me remedy that!

It can also help me tell you who wrote ache book of the Bible, when, and where the books are found in the Bible, and what the "claim to fame" of each is.

I just love how each of the Printable Books of the Bible "Summary Sheets" offers a well-organized, easy-to-digest snapshot of an entire book on the Bible in a visually appealing way.  It is so handy!

Recently, my children and I have been reading a Christian fiction book about Jericho.  Enter the Book of Joshua page to give us some quick context and food for thought...

...and also some quotes for copywork.

One of my children is reading through books of the Gospel this year as part of his studies. 

So, enter the Luke page to give him an overview to pin his readings on.

Indeed, having the 74-page Books of the Bible At-a-Glance pdf e-file on hand has proven a helpful resource for my family when we find allusions to Bible stories in the various books, videos, and audios we dive into. It makes it easy to key into when different Bible stories happened in history, what important points about them are, and more.

We use Books of the Bible At-a-Glance as a quick reference in our home.  I can also see it being used as a stand-alone resource for anyone who would like to do a concise study of the books of the Bible.

Anyone, that is, who does not mind that the Books of the Bible At-a-Glance is missing the deuterocanonical books.   Fellow Catholics, do take note that this Bible resource comes up seven books short according to our Bible.  However, do not let that deter you from considering Books of the Bible At-a-Glance.  I can attest that in using it so far we have found it convenient, quick, eye-pleasing, and helpful and my children have not yet noticed the missing books.  (I am waiting for them to so we can chat more about the development of the Bible and also so I can challenge them to make their own summary pages for the deuterocanonical books.)

Any which way, I am glad to have Books of the Bible At-a-Glance in our collection of resources and have found it to be a quick and handy go-to.

As indicated, I have only used it as an at-our-fingertips electronic resource to go along with reading we are already doing - sometimes printing out pages for easy off-screen reading.  I can also see Books of the Bible At-a-Glance working as:

• a conversation starter (using the "Important Points" section
• an introduction or review of the Bible as a whole (minus the  seven Old Testament books found in the Catholic Bible that some other Bibles disclude)
• a help for timelining and placing Bible history in context
• a source for quotes for copywork, speeches, and more
• a resource for quiz-show like games (using the claims to game, famous stories, and more)

Simple, streamlined, and successful in its goal to "give famous characters, Bible verses and situations placement and context", Books of the Bible At-a-Glance is a resource I can recommend.


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Seventy-five Review Crew families have been using Books of the Bible At-a-Glance in various ways.  Check out the other reviews for more ideas on how to use this wonderfully handy product.

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Dig Deeper with These 2 Bible Biographies {A Review}

Have you been searching for easy chapter books that engage children in Biblical biographies, challenge them to apply lessons to their own lives, and easily support learning activities such as mapping, timelining, copywork, memory work, and more?  

Then, check out Matt Koceich's Kingdom Files series from Barbour Publishing. I have just read Who Was Jonah? and Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? and recommend them!

What is the Kingdom Files Series?

The Kingdom Files is a series of juvenile biographies written by Matt Koceich which are designed to introduce kids to heroes of the Bible.  Each book is set up in a similar fashion with:

• a Fact File that lends itself nicely to exercises in mapping, outlining, timelining.

• an Action File that offers a kid-friendly narrative in an easy-to-read font with plenty of white space and black-and-white illustrations.

• gray Clues boxes throughout the narrative that highlight thought-provoking details.

• a Power File that takes the familiar story of a Bible hero and extends it through highlighting specific lessons and suggesting ways we can apply the lessons to our own lives.  This section also offers Bible verses for memory.

All this is packaged neatly in a paperback of less than 100 pages.

Great for Developing Readers

My daughter with dyslexia typically struggles with chapter books, but happily made reading the narrative portion of Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? to me an August-September goal for herself.  So, whenever we have a few minutes to ourselves, we've been cuddling up and doing just that - having her read me the story.

It's been great!

My daughter is already quite familiar with Mary's story, but was curious how this particular book would tell it and has found the layout and content of the book to be at a "just right" level for her for her growing reading competency.  She's breezed through some of the text and surprised us both tackling big words on other pages.

We've also both enjoyed the Clues boxes as things I read to her as a break from her reading to me.  I especially appreciated how the ideas in these boxes inspire short conversations and highlight virtues, as well as, sometimes, Biblical parallels.

I also like how the Power-Up's at the end of the book extend the narrative story, challenging us to think more deeply and apply lessons from Bible heroes to our own lives  They make the book a biography, Bible study, devotional, and self-help book in one!  Love it.

My daughter liked the book as well, although she did ask me why so many parts of the story she knows as Mary's story are missing.  I explained to her that the Kingdom Files books focus just on what the Bible says about certain people, not on what has been handed down via Tradition.  Thus, this book sticks to Mary's journey through marriage, motherhood, the loss of her son, and his resurrection - telling Mary's story as found in the Bible.

When I asked my daughter what she thought of Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus?, she said:

The reason I like Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? is that you can just read the story, and the little clues can go on the side, so you don't have to read them until later. 

Or, if you want, you can just read the clue boxes to find out about some virtues and facts about Mary and how she trusts in God.  The Clue boxes are easy to find, because they are highlighted.

You can also read the Power Ups.  They tell you how to take Mary's story and incorporate it into your own life.  They also include memory verses.  I like how the memory verses are written out and are not just a short note of the Bible chapter and verse, like "Luke 1:46".  Instead, they have the whole verse written for you so you do not have to look it up.

I like the Action File part of the book the best.  Mommy likes the Power Ups the best.

My daughter is absolutely right about me liking the Power Ups!  In fact, I am thinking about using the ones from this book as family studies next May since it is a month dedicated to Mary.

Familiar Characters, Wonderful Lesson

My daughter has succeeded so well with Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? that I plan to encourage her to read Who Was Jonah? next.  Thus, I decided to keep the Jonah book as a special one for the two of us to read together before letting either of my son's read through it.   Of course, though, since I knew I would be reviewing the book before my daughter would have a chance to read it to me, I did quickly pre-read it myself.

In doing so, I was impressed by how Who Was Jonah? goes beyond the simple episodes of Jonah's life that most children find highlighted in Bible storybooks and dives a bit deeper into the full story of Jonah as told in the Bible and how it applies to our own lives.  It truly takes Jonah out of the whale's belly and into relevance for life today.

Both Who Was Jonah? and Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? are written so that an 8-12 year old can read, enjoy, and learn from them.  They are also written, I found, so that a parent reading along can be reminded of truths and pushed to live our callings better.  Yes, most certainly,the Spirit whispered to me, reminded me, convicted me, and pushed me more than once as I read these wonderful Christian biographies that I would recommend for any family seeking to deepen their understanding of how Bible heroes can illuminate everyday living.

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See what other Crew Review families thought about Who Was Jonah? and Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus?.

Read the reviews!

The Kingdom Files series currently includes 6 books about Bible heroes and the series website offers free printable game sheets and educator reosurces related to them.

Author Matt Koceich also writes Biblical fiction, which my family has enjoyed.

Imagine

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Bible Study for the Whole Family {A Review}

If you've been wanting to focus more on timelines, mapping, and the Bible in your homeschool, co-op, church, or classroom endeavors, then the Bible Study Guide For All Ages is worth looking into.  
Our family has been working our way through the Intermediate (3rd & 4th grade) and Advanced (5th & 6th grade) and, so far, I am impressed.

Homeschool Bible Lessons with Something for Everyone

The Bible Study Guide For All Ages is a multi-faceted resource that aims to take folks of all ages through the entire Bible at the same time over the course of four years.  The program helps you learn the "big picture" of the story of the Bible while also sharpening your knowledge of Bible details.  It also challenges you to think about how to apply Bible teaching to your own life.

The full course has 416 lessons offered at levels for ages 3-K, grades 1-2, grades 3-4, grades 5-6, teens, and adults.  Each level has its own student pages, but the lessons in all levels study the same Scripture at the same time.  That way, your whole family can study the Bible together - with each person using age-appropriate student pages - and, when a child outgrows one level, the child can simply move onto the next lesson in the next level.  This makes the program fabulous for multi-age families!

The program also offers components besides the student pages, including CD's, Bible Book Summary Cards, Wall Maps and a Time Line and more.  That means, there is something for everyone - auditory, kinesthetic, and visual learners of all ages!

Further, the program can be used no matter what Christian denomination you are, for as the creator of the program says:

"We are sometimes asked if we are owned or controlled by a particular denomination or if we teach various church doctrines. We work independently of any church group or denomination and make no attempt to teach our opinion about issues of debate. Our goal is to present the Bible and the Bible alone. We believe that it is through the prayerful study of God’s word that people come to a true and lasting faith."

So far, I have seen this to be true - the program seems to stick to the Bible alone.  (My children and I did note that it does not contain anything for deuterocanonical books - the Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, and Baruch- which are a part of our Catholic Bible.

Easy to Tailor to Your Family's Needs

For this review, we received:

•  a set of the Large Bible Book Summary Cards: full page, glossy card stock cards that have full-color illustrations on one side and questions and answers on the other to help you get the big picture of the Bible.  (These were my favorite part of the program!)
  
  
  
  
  
• Intermediate Student Pages through Lesson 26: These are legal paper sized black-and-white student pages that are bound quite loosely (for easy tear-out, I suppose.)  They include Bible drills, review games, timeline and map drills, application activities and more and are written so a child can guide themselves through the pages or work with a parent or teacher on them. You can view samples of them here. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Advanced Student Pages through Lesson 26: These are similar to the intermediate pages, but, of course, are a little more challenging. They include interactive, illustrated Bible study, Bible and memory drills, timeline, maps, application activities, and more.  You can view sample pages of these, too.
  
  
  
  
  
• an Advanced Teacher Key through lesson 26:  These are a companion to the Student Pages and provide additional teaching aids such as definitions of Bible words, background information, instructions for placing labels in the Unlabeled Wall Maps and Time Lines, etc.  The Student Pages may be used with or without this key.  To decide if you'd find it helpful, you can view sample pages.
  
  
  
  
  
• a Wall Map & Time Line Label Book: This small 3-ring binder contains keys to where labels go as well as all the labels needed for the first 104 lessons.  The labels are in full color and made of sturdy glossy cardstock.  You cut them out yourself and attach them to the Wall Maps and Time Line using adhesive putty.
  
  
  
  
  
• Wall Map & Time Line: These are blank maps and timelines that help you see where Bible events took place and how all the stories of the Bible fit together over time. The size of the Time Line is 76" x 25". The sizes of the three maps are 38" x 25", 19" x 25" and 19" x 25".  (This is what drew me into the program.  I have been wanting to focus more on time lines and mapping and these make doing so handy!)
  
  
  
  
  

Of course, then, the first thing we did when starting to use all this was put up our Time Line and Wall Maps and begin cutting out the labels.  I, personally, do not love having to keep track of lots of little pieces, but my daughter enjoys cutting, placing labels, etc. and said, "The Time Line is my favorite part of the program!"

Then, we sat down together with the Student Pages, Summary Cards, and our Bibles and began with Lesson 1.  My children were a little confused at first because I had them at two different levels and so their pages were different.  Then, once they realized we had different level Student Pages, my youngest wanted to try the Advanced level.  I let him, but, he quickly decided the Intermediate Level was for him, and stated, "The whole Intermediate Level because it is easier and I like the activities!"

My oldest son liked the Advanced Level best and said, "I liked that I could move ahead with it, and, then, do something else while you guys caught up."  And, yes, this is what happened - proving the Student Pages can be used independently and do not require the Teacher Key.

Due to the nuero-diversity of my children and our life schedule, we tend to do particular family lessons for only 15-20 minutes in a sitting, and my oldest tends to get distracted easily.  So, he either spent time going ahead of his siblings and I a bit or racing through a portion of the program and then reading or writing his own stuff until we were ready to move onto group use of the Wall Maps, Time Line, and Summary.  This worked for us.

The fact that the curriculum is written with two pages per lesson, but many small sub-lesson bits worked, too.  In 15-20 minutes, we could not, of course, get through an entire lesson, but, because of the way the program is written, we could easily find a logical breaking point, and, then, pick right back up with lessons the next time we sat down together.

As a family, we found the Bible Study Guide For All Ages easy to adapt to our schedules, learning styles, and needs and will definitely be using it in rotation with our other faith studies as time continues.  This means it might take us far more than a 1/4 year to complete the Quarter 1 materials we have, but, that's okay with us.  We are relaxed and eclectic.  For those that are more structured, using the materials 2-3 times a week for longer than 15-20 minutes at a sitting, you could certainly work through 1/4 of the Bible in a year, and the full Bible over four years.

We can recommend Bible Study Guide For All Ages for those who wish to combine Bible geography, history(time line) and Bible studies (but will add the caveat for fellow Catholics that not all the books of the Bible are included and, also, we have yet to see what every lesson is like, so would recommend families work together so that if the odd theology question comes up, it can be dealt with right away.  I do not foresee this happening since so far we've found the program truly does just stick to the Word, not interpretations of it.  However, I would feel remiss not mentioning to fellow Catholics that I have not yet read every lesson and, therefore, cannot speak to the entire 4-year program.  I like what I have done so far!)

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Want different points of view?  Seventy Homeschool Review Crew families tested out different levels of the Bible Study Guide For All Ages.

Find the Bible Study Guide for All Ages on Facebook and Twitter.

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Go Back in Time to Creation and Noah's Ark with The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Book Series {A Review}

I am always curious to see how author's weave Bible stories into fiction, and I also have children who like to read and listen to stories, so I was delighted by an opportunity to review the first two books in The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series by MJ Thomas from WorthyKids/Ideals:

• The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Beginning (Book #1)
• The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: Race to the Ark (Book #2)

These two books - intended to be independent reads for ages 6-9 or enjoyed by the entire family as read togethers - are filled with adventure, time travels, and Bible stories, which capture children's attention while building on their faith and knowledge.  Each paperback book is about 100 pages long with illustrations sprinkled throughout.

In the vein of other back-in-time book series, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls is meant for elementary school-aged readers who enjoy short chapters filled with mystery, imagination, and fun.  Unlike many other similar books, though, books in The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series focus on teaching kids about the Bible.  In fact, when author M.J. Thomas went looking for engaging books that would teach kids about the Bible, he had no luck finding any, so he decided to write such books himself.  He then named the main characters after his son Peter, niece Mary, and dog, Hank. I think this was a fun fact - and I just love when authors take initiative to write engaging fiction to fill a niche that is lacking.

When these books came into our home, I read the first chapters of the first book to all three of my children together and - then-surprise for me! - my reluctant reader middle child asked if she could try reading the story to me.  So, we've been doing that together, taking the story quite slowly as she flusters easily when decoding. 

She has also been attempting to read ahead during her read to self time.  To me, this is a BIG WIN!  She says:

I like how they ended up back in time when they dropped the scroll and it broke open.  They went back in time to when there was nothing - the beginning.

The book follows the Bible story pretty well, but there are some parts that are different.  I think it is fun to take the things from the story and o compare them to the real Bible.

I also like the poem in the book.  It was cool how they changed the font. 

I want to finish all of them!

Meanwhile, my oldest, a voracious reader and sometimes impatient child opted to take the first and second books to read on his on.  Doing so took him only a few nights of bedtime reading.  He said:

They are pretty good. I like reading.  These books were in the house.  I was curious about them and read them.

I asked him to tell me more, and he decided we should have a short interview:

What is the premise of the books?  These two kids go to visit their Great Uncle while their parents are away.  He is an archeologist who found cool scrolls, and the scrolls can transport you back in time to times in the Bible, so they go back in time.

Where do they go in Book One and what happens?  They go back to Creation and the Garden of Eden. They meet the Archangel Michael and run into an evil snake.  It follows the Bible story well, but adds things, like, there were not boats during that time,so that's kind of not real.

What was your favorite part of that story?  The part where they were fighting the snake.  They go tricked by the snake, and, then fought him, but I don't want to spoil the story... 

Where do they go in Book Two and what happens?  They heard a lion's roar, went in the library, grabbed the scroll, and were transported back in time to the Great Flood.  They got into fights with bad kids from that time period and there was an evil guy called the Dark Ruler who they got in trouble with.

What was your favorite part of that story?  I liked when they fight the Dark Ruler.

Do you think the books were put together?  I think they were easy to understand and I liked the quick chapters, but I would have liked the books to be a bit longer because I like long books.  The illustrations helped me imagine what the characters looked like.  I liked Peter better than Mary, because I didn't like how Mary seemed to know everything. That was kind of weird.  I also liked Hank the Dog, because he as important.  He did all kinds of things to help Peter and Mary.

Would you recommend these books and, if so,  to whom?  Yes!  I recommend them to those who want to have exciting stories about the Bible.  I also think they would be good for beginning readers.  I would read other books in this series.  I hope the author writes ones about David and Goliath, Saint Paul, and the Judges.

My youngest child said this about the books:

I like how they go back in time, and I like Hank.  I like when Mom reads them to me. 

He has also begun to read the books alone.  (Another win!)

So, I think it is clear: MJ Thomas met his mission of weaving Bible stories into engaging fiction for children to read.  All three of my children have been enjoying The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series, and we hope to read more as new books come out.

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 Seventy-five Homeschool Review Crew families had a chance to read and review these books.  Click through the banner to find links to what everyone thought.

 

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What Adventure-Filled Christian Fiction for Kids! {An Imagine. . .The Great Flood Review}

If you and your children enjoy reading Christian fiction for kids, then add  Imagine. . .The Great Flood by Matt Koceich from Barbour Publishing to your "up next" pile.   This middle grade fiction story, written for children ages 8 to 12, is the first release in a brand-new epic adventure series written by schoolteacher and missionary, Matt Koceich that aims to bring popular Bible stories to life for today's children.

In Imagine. . .The Great Flood, you are taken from modern day Texas to the times of Noah's Ark in order to experience what the monumental Biblical event of the Great Flood might have been like.  You also are reminded that, although life may change and seem uncertain at times, God is always with you.

The book, a 110-page softcover with 15 chapters, is a quick and engaging read.  My children and I read it together in our bedtime story rotation and, more than once, they asked me to keep reading since chapters often ended with enticing cliff hangers. 

Since chapters were short, I did not mind honoring the children's requests, so it took us only about a week in our bedtime story rotation to finish Imagine. . .The Great Flood, and I would think it would take a proficient middle grade reader only about and hour or two to read the entire story independently.


My seven-year-old summarized this piece of fun Christian fiction for kids:

In Imagine, Corey was moving from Texas to Florida and was not happy about it.  Before he moved, he was in a forest and fell and hit his head.  Then, he started to imagine things. 

Corey imagined that he was taken back before the Great Flood.  He met Noah's sons and Noah.  He talked to them and helped them.  They tried to get all of the animals onto the ark.  Some giants tried to stop them, but lions helped.

Once, the evil people threw Corey in a pit.  That was when the rain started to come.  It seemed hopeless, but Corey thought and prayed.

In the end, Corey came back to modern times.  He moved and met a friend named Noah.  Something scary happened, but you have to read to find out what.

I liked this book.  The giants made it interesting.  One thing I did not like was that, at the end, there was a treasure hunt, but it didn't say who won or anything.

People who like to read or be read to might like this book, especially people who like Bible stories.  It gave me new ideas about Noah's Ark. 

My ten-year-old daughter went into more details about conflicts withing the story:

Imagine has a couple struggles in it:

The first one is that Corey does not want to move to Florida.  Then, he hits his head on a log, goes into an imaginary world, and comes back having learned that everything is not as hard or as bad as it seems.  We need to trust and obey God.

Another struggle in the story is between Corey and Elizar, an evil wizard who tries to utterly destroy Corey in the time of Noah's Ark.  At one point, he stuck him in a pit.  The flood came.  Corey was hanging onto a log...  He was not destroyed.

Imagine was a good story.  It was exciting.  I could really see the action.  It's a book about a boy who travels in time to Noah's time, because he had a concussion.  He faced evil people and, then, came back to the modern world.  He moved and used his lessons from Noah's time to help his new friend Noah.  Christians who like read alouds would like this.  You could read it yourself, too.

As you can see from my daughter's narration, Imagine. . .The Great Flood does put the "fiction" into Biblical fiction by adding imaginative details and characters to the typical Bible version of the Great Flood.  A wizard, a horde of evil giants, and a seemingly magical staff become a part of the story.  These additions are done tastefully and, honestly, add to the drama and excitement of the story helping the message of it come alive without making the story too fanciful.

My eleven-year-old especially liked the drama within the story and said:

We read Imagine together, but I could have easily read it by myself. 

The book is meant for 8 year olds and up, but I think 10 and up would be good, because there are some intense scenes.  In our home, my brother, who is seven, and my sister, who is ten, heard it, but my brother is kind of into intense things.  Other kids might be more sensitive.

This book is good for Christians.  It is an adventure story that takes you back in time to the time of the Great Flood.  The story if fiction, so it adds a lot of things to the Bible story.  These things help you imagine the times.

I liked this book.  It was fast-paced and filled with exciting parts and almost deadly encounters.

Don't let his warning scare you off, though.  Truly, there was drama in the book, but nothing gory or too frightening, in my opinion, for the target audience of 8-12 year olds, unless, of course, your child is super sensitive to good vs. evil scenes where evil seems close to winning. 

Imagine. . .The Great Flood truly was a fun read which kept us turning pages, imagining what it may have been like during Noah's time, and remembering that things change, but God doesn't, and we should always be thankful.  I would definitely recommend the story to those looking for clean reading for kids and Biblical fiction!

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Imagine. . .The Great Flood can currently be purchased for the sale price of just $4.49 and Imagine...The Ten Plagues is due out in March 2018. 

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Seventy-five Homeschool Review Crew families are sharing what we thought about  Imagine. . .The Great Flood.  Click through the banner to find all our reviews.

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