The question “what to give?” arises in our lives no less often than the well-known “who is to blame?” and “what to do?”, and finding the answer to this question requires considerable effort and ingenuity each time. And if the situation is complicated by the young age of the hero of the occasion, and even the celebration itself is not a banal birthday (which, as we know, happens only once a year), but for example name days, christenings, Christmas or Easter - in a word, a holiday that implies not just a gift, and the gift is thematic - here the problem of choice can become simply catastrophic. A good idea for solving this problem can be suggested by the thesis learned from childhood “the best gift is a good book,” especially if we continue this idea - the best book is a Superbook. A superbook for children is a children's Bible.
Children's Bibles are paraphrases of the main themes of the Holy Scriptures made specifically for children. There is only one Bible, but there are a considerable number of retellings of it, so sometimes it can be difficult to figure out which children’s Bible should be purchased in each specific case. One thing is obvious: the ideal children's Bible does not exist, but if you clearly know who is purchasing the book and why, it is quite possible to choose the best option, or even several.
Children's Bibles differ, firstly, in the age of the children to whom they are addressed - after all, telling about the same events to a five-year-old child and a fifteen-year-old teenager, we will take into account the peculiarities of their perception, and as a result we will tell them differently. Second, paraphrases may be brief or detailed, and the selection of “major themes” chosen for this children's Bible may be somewhat different from the choices made by the author of another children's Bible. Third, children's Bibles are often supplemented with explanations, commentary, or background material, which can make the text much easier to understand.
Children's Bibles appeared quite late - in the second half of the nineteenth century. Since practically no children's Bibles were written in Soviet times, we can conditionally divide all the editions available today into pre-revolutionary ones (they are either reprinted or reprinted, that is, preserving the then spelling, and in this case, when reading, you will have to wade through “yati”, solid signs and dots above i, or in translation (full or abbreviated) into modern Russian - in this case it is much easier to read), translated and modern. A characteristic feature of reprinting old books is that the same text can now be published under different names, so if you are looking for something specific, it is better to focus on the author.
Part one: the most popular
If you have ever read a Scripture summary, it was most likely one of the three books discussed below, simply because they are the most commonly found children's Bibles in public and private libraries. Just one of them is pre-revolutionary, the second is translated, and the third is post-Soviet.
“Sacred history in simple stories for reading at school and at home. Old and New Testaments", compiled by Archpriest Alexander Sokolov
One of the most popular and reprinted books in Russia was and remains the book “Sacred History in Simple Stories for Reading at School and at Home,” compiled by Archpriest A. Sokolov at the end of the 19th century. The reprint edition is illustrated with black and white drawings based on the originals by Dore and Plockhorst and is 480 pages (the retelling is quite detailed!). In the Old Testament part there is a retelling of non-canonical books of the Bible, for example the book of Tobit and the books of the Maccabees. In addition, in the retelling of the New Testament there are episodes that are absent in the original and belong to Church Tradition: the plot of the introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple at the age of three, the founding of the city of Kiev by the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the Dormition of the Theotokos. The narration is told on behalf of the author, addressing the children; along the course of the text, edifications and teachings are inserted - like some intermediate conclusions from the story.
Of course, the children's Bible by Archpriest Alexander Sokolov is an absolute classic of the genre. Biblical stories, as interpreted by this author, are included in the textbook for the fifth grade of a comprehensive school, “In the World of Literature,” edited by A.G. Kutuzova. However, even in the adapted version of this Bible, the language is a little heavy for the modern reader (“too marked by the style of the last century,” Father Andrei Kuraev said about this book), and inserted comments in some cases sound somewhat deliberate, although sometimes they really serve an explanatory purpose. function.
The book is aimed at middle and high school age; it is also quite suitable for adults for a preliminary acquaintance with biblical stories.
“The Law of God for Family and School” by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodsky
"The Law of God" is not a children's Bible in the strict sense of the word, it contains not only a retelling of the Old and New Testaments, but also several chapters on various aspects of the Orthodox faith. The book “The Law of God” was written in 1957 in America for Russian emigrants, and since then has gone through several reprints in Russian and English, and in the early 90s it came to the Russian reader. There are several textbooks on the 'Law of God' by different authors, but the work of Fr. Seraphim Slobodsky is rightfully considered the best of them. For many years now, it has been the main textbook for Sunday and church secondary schools, and not only children, but also adults study it. The composition of the book has long since become classic, so that examination questions for those entering theological schools, regent classes and seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church are now based on its chapters.
Here is what you can read in the annotations to this book: “Today, this is the only complete textbook that covers all aspects of Orthodox doctrine and church life. “The Law of God” is a kind of Christian encyclopedia, where all the information and concepts necessary for an Orthodox Christian are presented in an accessible and concise manner.”
“The Law of God” consists of five parts (sometimes they are published in separate books - it turns out to be a five-volume set):
Part 1. Preliminary Concepts
Part 2. Prayers
Part 3. Sacred history of the Old and New Testaments
Part 4. About faith and Christian life
Part 5. About the worship of the Orthodox Church
The third part, as you might guess, is a retelling of the Bible. The retelling contains a large number of interpretations and explanations. In a number of cases, the author not only sets out biblical history, but cites scientific data of that time (the middle of the last century) as confirmation - for example, in the chapters on the creation of the world or the global flood. At the end of each chapter there are links to the verses retold and the original chapters. Some chapters are a presentation of Church Tradition, therefore they are not in the original (that is, in the Bible). The commandments and parables are analyzed and explained as the retelling progresses, although in the section “On Faith and Christian Life” the Ten Commandments of Moses and the Beatitudes are discussed separately and in more detail.
Nowadays, the illustrated book “The Bible for Children”, published based on materials from the “Law of God,” is increasingly found on the shelves of bookstores . Old and New Testament"
edited by N.V. Astrakhanova (240 pages).
“Children's Bible” (Bible stories in pictures), Borislav Arapovich, Vera Mattemlyaki
The most popular children's Bible of the early 90s of the last century: it was published in 30 languages with a total circulation of about eight million copies. In publications and conversations it is often referred to as the "Stockholm Children's Bible" (based on the location of the publisher) or the "Blue Children's Bible" (based on the color of the cover). The book contains 545 pages, each story takes up no more than a page and is not so much a retelling of biblical events as a summary of them: direct quotation of large fragments of text is accompanied by small comments and explanations by the compilers. At the end of each chapter there are links to verses and chapters of the Bible that are retold and quoted. The undoubted advantages of the publication include a good preface about the history of the creation of the Bible and geographical maps and photographs of biblical places located at the end.
How convenient is it to use this particular Bible? Let's compare reviews. The publishers characterize the book as follows: “The Children's Bible” is prepared for young readers. Long stories have been shortened and simplified. Each story is accompanied by a color picture in which the artist depicts his idea of what the story says. Since 1990, the Children's Bible has been published with an addition, in an expanded edition. Since not only children, but also many adults read this book, this edition also includes some texts intended more for an adult reader.”
And here’s what I heard from one of Arapovich and Mattemlyaki’s readers: “There are a lot of incomprehensible words, right down to the names of all the rivers, towns and villages. A child of 4 years old cannot master this, but only gets confused, it is written so allegorically that all the time he has to stop and explain, explain, explain what it is about. Well, for example: "…. Soon the Jews came to Hebron and anointed David to reign in the southern part of Israel, Judah. Seven and a half years later, David reigned over all Israel. God fulfilled what he promised him through the prophet Samuel...”
My child didn’t understand anything from this phrase!”
So, if you decide to buy your child this particular children’s Bible, be prepared for the fact that the book will give him more questions than answers: the quotation-concise style of presentation contributes precisely to this (unless, of course, the reader does not limit himself to looking at the color illustrations, but tries to delve into text). Therefore, immediately purchase for yourself the Synodal Bible (if you don’t already have it) and its interpretations - soon there will be a wonderful reason to study the Holy Scriptures with the whole family!
Why is it important to know the Gospel?
And so, every lesson we talked about something related to the Gospel. That is, how, so that this book is holy - the Gospel, it is not some kind of book divorced from real life. And children and parents could understand that this book is alive, that it was written almost 2 thousand years ago, and then it was relevant for the new, young church that was formed on Earth, so the book is relevant to this day.
It has not become somehow outdated or ancient or archaic. Even now it carries within itself these living verbs that will help us change our lives, that will help us understand the meaning of our lives. Which will help us live as Christians and be that part of the church that Christ told us about and which he founded on earth. And the continuers of these traditions, of which we are all Christians.
Therefore, it is very important to know the Gospel, it is very important to study it. And that’s precisely why I compiled this course, because I myself wanted to study this chronology more deeply, together with the children. Then, you can return to these notes, to these workbooks: in a year, in two, in half a month. Or the older children learned from these notes, then the younger ones grow up, and you can study with them, they will be very interested.
In addition, from time to time we take these notes with us to the service, and the younger children sit and look at all these openers: they open them, they look. They are thus busy, and accordingly, it is not just some book that is interesting and they read, but also, they touch the Holy Scriptures, thus, through these notebooks.
Part two: classics of the genre for the little ones
At what age is it time to read a children's Bible to a child? Of course, all this is individual and is decided by the parents, but in most parochial schools in our city, lessons in the Law of God, in which children are introduced to the stories of the Holy Scriptures, are designed for students of five or six years old. Those time-tested children's Bibles, which are rightfully considered today classics of the genre, are designed for the same age of readers.
“My first sacred story in stories for children” by priest P. Vozdvizhensky
The book by priest P. N. Vozdvizhensky “My First Sacred History,” published in 1899 and going through several reprints in pre-revolutionary Russia, was recognized as the best retelling of the Bible for children of that time.
This children's Bible is not large in volume - only about a hundred pages. The events of the New Testament are presented in more detail: of all twenty-five chapters, only three are devoted to Old Testament subjects (“Creation of the World,” “Expulsion from Paradise” and “The Flood”).
The retelling is done very poetically, and at the same time accessible. The preface to the first edition states that the book “ tells simply and entertainingly all the important events of the Old and New Testaments so that children can understand what is written without the need for adult explanations.”
which, you see, is important!
In the post-perestroika era, the children's Bible, as retold by P. Vozdvizhensky, was willingly and repeatedly republished (and is still being republished) in a variety of variations: different covers, different pictures, even different names, from reprints with yats, dots over i and unusual pre-revolutionary illustrations to completely “modern” versions. However, the language in which P. Vozdvizhensky’s book is written is so characteristic that “we recognize it from a thousand” under any title and in any edition:
“The blue sky stretched above us. The sun shines on it like a ball of fire and gives us warmth and light. At night, the moon comes out to replace the sun, and around, like children near their mother, there are many, many stars. Like clear eyes, they blink in the heights, and, like golden lanterns, illuminate the heavenly dome. Forests and gardens, grass and beautiful flowers grow on the ground. Everywhere on earth live animals and horses, and sheep, and wolves, and bunnies, and many others... Where did all this come from?”
“The main events of the New Testament in pictures with a brief explanatory text for the youngest children” S.N. Gorbova
Book by S.N. Gorbova with this title was published in 1900. It can also be classified as a children's Bible, although it is not a retelling of the entire Bible, but only of its part - the New Testament. The author's preface says:
“The purpose of the proposed book is to give the youngest children a visual representation of the main events of the New Testament in a whole series of pictures. In a short explanatory text, the author tried, if possible, to connect individual facts, as far as this was necessary to understand their sequence. If he manages to make it easier for parents to compile the initial story, if a five- or six-year-old child can use text to explain the content of each picture, if he can clearly read the prayer to the Mother of God and the Lord’s Prayer, if, finally, during mass he will understand the words of the establishment of the Sacrament “, - the author will consider himself satisfied, his book will be sufficient preparation for the first conscious step of a Christian ahead in the life of a child: his first confession.”
Today this book has been edited and republished under the title “ The Gospel for the Little Ones.”
The narrative begins with the birth of the Virgin Mary and ends with the chapter on the Ascension. The chapters are not long, easy to read, the text is not overloaded with words unfamiliar to a child, so it is quite suitable for children under five years old, if they suddenly become interested in the Gospel stories.. During the retelling, there are explanations. For example, in the chapter “The Entry of the Lord and Jerusalem” there is the following paragraph:
“When we remember the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem, we stand in the church with the willow tree. We don't have palm trees; so instead of palm branches we hold willow branches, and this day is called Palm Sunday.”
The penultimate chapter - “The Resurrection of Christ” - begins like this:
“Jesus Christ was crucified and died on Friday. The next day was Saturday. And on the third day Christ rose from the dead. Since then, this day has always been called “Resurrection”, and on Easter - “Bright Resurrection”. At Easter we say to each other “Christ is Risen!” And we answer: “Truly he is risen!”
Among other things, the book is well illustrated, and on each picture touching on the Gospel theme, the name of the Gospel is written, according to which the events are narrated, the numbers of chapters and verses - so that, while reading “The Gospel for the Little Ones,” you can gradually introduce the child to the biblical texts.
“Stories for children about the earthly life of the Savior and Lord our God Jesus Christ,” compiled by A.N. Bakhmetova
The children's New Testament with this name had no equal in popularity at the end of the 19th century, like the rest of Alexandra Bakhmeteva’s books (“Selected lives of saints, summarized according to the guidance of the Chetiyh-Menai”; “Stories from the history of the Christian Church. From the 1st century to half of the 11th century,” “The Beginning of Christianity in Russia and the Baptism of Rus' under Prince Vladimir,” “Stories from Russian Church History”) by a famous writer “for children and the people.” Despite the “nationality” of her books, Bakhmeteva herself was from a noble family; for some time she lived with her parents in Rome, where she met N.V. Stankevich and I.S. Turgenev, who dedicated two poems to her (one, with changes, was included in the novel “The Noble Nest”, addressed to Lisa). After marriage, she lived permanently in Moscow, was engaged in charity and literary activities, and was elected an honorary member of the society of lovers of Russian literature. The writer had extensive knowledge of church and civil history and the ability to work with sources. Reviewers praised her writings for their fidelity to the spirit of Holy Scripture, simplicity and accuracy of presentation. Today we have the opportunity to appreciate her creations.
“Stories for Children about the Earthly Life of the Savior” was republished in 1991 in a very restrained design, more intended to be read aloud to children than to be read by the children themselves. The publishers described it as follows: “The book presents in an abbreviated form the events from the New Testament - the earthly life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the acts of the apostles. An explanation of the Gospel parables given is given. Intended primarily for young readers. Published from the 17th edition, published in Moscow in 1912. In preparing this book, the text was left virtually unchanged.”
The book can be roughly divided into four parts:
· retelling of the Gospel (in fact, these are stories about the earthly life of Jesus Christ);
· “about the parables of the Lord” - here the Gospel parables are not only retold, but also interpreted and explained;
· “conversations of the Savior” - separate interpretations are given on various words and conversations of Jesus Christ, starting with the Sermon on the Mount;
· the fourth part is a retelling of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and the very last chapter contains a brief description of the messages of the apostles and that information about the life and death of the apostles that was not included in the New Testament.
In the first two parts, chapter and verse references to the original source are provided at the beginning of each chapter. Along the way, the story tells about the main Orthodox holidays, and provides texts of prayers in Church Slavonic and Russian with explanations. The church sacraments are mentioned - baptism, wedding, communion, and comments are provided. In general, the book gives the impression of a first volume, which must be followed by a sequel. And this is not surprising if you look again at the titles of Alexandra Bakhmeteva’s other books.
Later, several more editions of “Stories about the Earthly Life of the Savior” were published, this time “with pictures.” The same retelling of the Bible was published under the title "Exposition of the New Testament for Children"
"with a large number of color illustrations and in an abbreviated form (without the fourth part), that is, in fact, being a presentation not of the entire New Testament, but only of its main part - the Gospel. This option is more elegant and visual; it can be classified as a gift.
Part Three: Modern Gospels for Children
The need to translate and adapt the Bible into modern languages (including into a language understandable to children) does not lose its relevance. Therefore, new versions of children's Bibles and children's Gospels are appearing. New retellings are being carried out by writers, teachers, and priests, and especially for this purpose by the existing Russian Bible Society.
Gospel story for children. M. A. Kucherskaya
This children's Gospel primarily attracts the attention of readers due to its author-reteller. Maya Kucherskaya
- a fairly well-known writer, author of the books “Modern Patericon. Reading for the discouraged" (which received the Bunin Prize in 2006 and caused a lot of noise in reading circles, Orthodox and not so) and "The God of Rain" (this novel was about).
Like everything else performed by Maya Kucherskaya, “The Gospel Story for Children” is written beautifully and talentedly, in simple, understandable language - the book is suitable for reading even for the youngest children (from the age of three!).
Reproductions of paintings of the 11th-12th centuries from the Church of St. Martin (Switzerland, Zilis) are used as illustrations. The preface was written by Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov, no less beautifully and talentedly:
“Dear parents and children! This book was created for you. Of course, both grandmother and grandfather can read it, but still it was written so that it is father and mother (the most important in the family) who at least occasionally read the most important Book to their children.
Here is a retelling of the Gospel story that one mother did for her daughter. She tried to tell even complex things clearly and simply - so that everything could be understood by a very little girl. And since this is not the canonical text of Holy Scripture, everyone reading these stories can add their own details and reflections on what they read.” .
The Gospel retold for children. N.V. Davydova
This is just a children's Gospel, written by a teacher. Natalya Vladimirovna Davydova
- methodologist for literary creativity at the Moscow City Palace of Children and Youth Creativity, teacher and author of a number of children's books, including “The Gospel and Old Russian Literature” and “Biblical Dictionary for Schoolchildren”, laureate of the Prize named after. K. D. Ushinsky, member of the Writers' Union of Russia.
“The book you hold in your hands combines all four Gospels into one narrative that is simpler and more accessible to you. The Gospel is the most important holy book for a Christian
."
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II
addresses to the reader in the preface . And, it should be noted, this retelling of the Gospel fully deserves to have a preface written by the Patriarch.
The book describes in detail the New Testament events from the birth of John the Baptist to the Ascension of the Lord. The main gospel events are presented simply and captivatingly, making them accessible to children.
The footnotes to the text provide explanations and comments, as well as some plots of the legend. For example, from the explanations you can find out that a legion is a military unit in the Roman army, numbering about 6,000 soldiers, the mysterious fig tree is a well-known fig tree, and the eyes of a needle, through which it is difficult for a camel to pass, were called narrow gates at the city gates.
The story is illustrated with drawings in the style of Russian icon painting and photographs of biblical places. At the end of the book there are short biographies of all four evangelists. Judging by the length - 144 pages - and the complexity of the text, the book is presumably aimed at middle school age.
“The Gospel and Prayer Book for Children” as presented by Archpriest Vladimir Chugunov
This book, written by a Nizhny Novgorod priest, is perhaps most often found on the shelves of Orthodox libraries and church shops, although it does not have any distinct advantages - well, perhaps a “built-in” prayer book. The book is made in an antique style. The language of presentation is not the most complex, but in some cases outdated words and phrases are used. The narration is told on behalf of the narrator, addressing the readers “my dears.”
The book consists of three sections: the Gospel, prayer book and preparation for confession. The first part is actually a retelling of not only the Gospel, but the entire New Testament, where the Gospel parables are placed separately at the end of the book, and elements of Church Tradition are included in the retelling of the book of Acts. The “prayer book” section contains the texts of basic Orthodox prayers and brief comments on the topic “how to behave in church.” The section “preparing for confession” is an analysis of the Ten Commandments.
To complete the picture, let’s add the impressions of some mothers who read this children’s Gospel to their children:
«I read our children's Gospel here. My opinion... Very large and bright pictures (beautiful), large font, written in an accessible way, not complicated, in children's language, a lot of diminutive words. Interesting. The downside is that I sometimes lost the essence of the story. The page ends and the thread breaks (as if something was left unsaid), on the new page there is another action, and then suddenly something that was not said on the previous pages suddenly pops up. And I, an adult, did not understand what we were talking about. I had to go back and read several pages again.”
“Here’s what’s not clear: secular books are divided into age categories, but what about spiritual ones? I got the impression that somewhere it was written for kindergarten children, and somewhere it was written for teenagers.”
“My son likes it, there are such small stories. I simplify some of them for him, explain them, so to speak, sometimes, on the contrary, we read several pages. But it seems to me that it’s impossible to make a purely baby Bible at all, so this is the most normal option.”
Gospel stories as presented by Yuri Tabak
The book, published by the Russian Bible Society in 1995, and republished in 2000, is an authorized translation from English of Mary Batchelor's book “The story of Jesus”. Like most translated children's Bibles, the book may seem overly “Americanized,” and the unusual drawings, more like comics, only enhance this impression. But, if you take it calmly, the book is good and useful.
A detailed retelling of the Four Gospels (the book contains 175 pages) is supplemented with historical and background information explaining various aspects of the life and way of life of people of that time, and color illustrations. From the explanations you can learn about the traditions described in the Gospel, historical and geographical features mentioned in the text. Gospel parables, like commentaries, are placed on separate pages and arranged as they are mentioned in the text. Each chapter contains links to the original verses retold - this is convenient for studying the Bible.
In the publisher’s comments we read: “ A person’s attitude towards the Bible is largely determined by his acquaintance with this Book in childhood. After all, it is childhood impressions that, as a rule, live longer than others in our minds. So that little readers could make friends with the Bible, this amazing book was written. It contains selected stories from the New Testament, masterfully transformed by the author into exciting stories. We hope that Gospel Stories will help your children to love the Bible by discovering in it the source of all that is noble, sublime, and good.
»
A children's Bible can be selected for any age and for any purpose - today's variety allows this to be done. If a book is bought as a gift to a godson from his godmother, and serves the purpose of instruction in the Orthodox faith, then it is better to choose from pre-revolutionary publications, in accordance with the age of the recipient. If a book is purchased for general educational purposes, it is better to choose more modern versions, or even better, those published by the Russian Bible Society. If you purchase a book for yourself for the purpose of studying the Bible (as a preliminary acquaintance with the plots, so that it will be easier to read the original text later), you need to choose a more detailed option, preferably with chapter-by-chapter links to the original, so that you can clarify and compare.
№8 (617) / February 22 '11
Natalya Zaitseva, Ekaterinburg Education
The question “what to give?” arises in our lives no less often than the well-known “who is to blame?” and “what should I do?”, and finding the answer to it requires considerable effort and ingenuity each time. And if the situation is complicated by the young age of the hero of the occasion, and even the celebration itself is not a banal birthday (which, as we know, happens only once a year), but, for example, name days, christenings, Christmas or Easter - in a word, a holiday that implies not just a gift, and a thematic gift - here the problem of choice can become simply catastrophic. A good solution to this problem can be suggested by the thesis learned from childhood “the best gift is a good book,” especially if we continue this idea: the best book is a Superbook. A superbook for children is a children's Bible.
Children's Bibles are retellings of the main themes of the Holy Scriptures made specifically for children. There is only one Bible, but there are many retellings of it.
Children's Bibles differ, firstly, in the age of the children to whom they are addressed - after all, telling about the same events to a five-year-old child and a fifteen-year-old teenager, we will take into account the peculiarities of their perception and, as a result, we will tell them differently. Second, paraphrases can be brief or detailed, and the selection of “major themes” chosen for one children's Bible may be somewhat different from the selection made by the author of another. Third, children's Bibles are often supplemented with explanations, commentary, or background material, which can make the text much easier to understand.
Children's Bibles appeared quite late - in the second half of the 19th century. Since practically no children's Bibles were written in Soviet times, we can conditionally divide all available editions into pre-revolutionary ones (they are either reprinted or reprinted, that is, preserving the then spelling, and in this case, when reading, you will have to wade through “yati”, solid signs and dots). i, or in translation (full or abridged) into modern Russian - in this case it is much easier to read), translated and modern. A characteristic feature of reprinting old books is that the same text can now be published under different names, so if you are looking for something specific, it is better to focus on the author.
Part one: the most popular
“Sacred history in simple stories for reading at school and at home. Old and New Testaments" compiled by Archpriest Alexander Sokolov
One of the most popular and reprinted books in Russia was and remains the book “Sacred History in Simple Stories for Reading at School and at Home,” compiled by Archpriest A. Sokolov at the end of the 19th century. The reprint edition is illustrated with black and white drawings based on the originals by Dore and Plockhorst and is 480 pages (the retelling is quite detailed!). The Old Testament part contains a retelling of non-canonical books of the Bible, for example, the book of Tobit and the books of the Maccabees. In addition, in the retelling of the New Testament there are episodes that are absent in the original and belong to Church Tradition: the plot of the introduction of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the temple at the age of three, the founding of Kyiv by the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. The narration is told on behalf of the author, addressing the children; along the course of the text, edifications and teachings are inserted - like some intermediate conclusions from the story.
The book is aimed at middle and high school age; it is also quite suitable for adults for a preliminary acquaintance with biblical stories.
“The Law of God for Family and School” by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodsky
"The Law of God" is not a children's Bible in the strict sense of the word, it contains not only a retelling of the Old and New Testaments, but also several chapters on various aspects of the Orthodox faith. The book “The Law of God” was written in 1957 in America for Russian emigrants and has since gone through several reprints in Russian and English, and in the early 90s it came to the Russian reader. There are several textbooks on “The Law of God” by different authors, but the work of Fr. Seraphim Slobodsky is rightfully considered the best of them. For many years now, it has been the main textbook for Sunday and church secondary schools, and not only children, but also adults study it.
“The Law of God” consists of five parts (sometimes they are published in separate books - it turns out to be a five-volume set):
part 1. Preliminary concepts; part 2. Prayers; part 3. Sacred history of the Old and New Testaments; part 4. About faith and Christian life; part 5. About the worship of the Orthodox Church.
The third part, as you might guess, is a retelling of the Bible. The retelling contains a large number of interpretations and explanations. In a number of cases, the author not only sets out biblical history, but cites scientific data of that time (the middle of the last century) as confirmation - for example, in the chapters on the creation of the world or the Flood. At the end of each chapter there are links to the verses retold and the original chapters. Some chapters are a presentation of Church Tradition, therefore they are not in the original (that is, in the Bible). Commandments and parables are analyzed and explained as the retelling proceeds.
Nowadays, the illustrated book “The Bible for Children”, published based on materials from the “Law of God,” is increasingly found on the shelves of bookstores . Old and New Testament" edited by N.V. Astrakhanova (240 pages).
“Children's Bible” (Bible stories in pictures) Borislav Arapovich, Vera Mattemlyaki
The most popular children's Bible of the early 90s of the last century: it was published in 30 languages with a total circulation of about eight million copies. In publications and conversations it is often referred to as the "Stockholm Children's Bible" (based on the place of publication) or the "Blue Children's Bible" (based on the color of the cover). The book has 545 pages, each story takes up no more than a page and is not so much a retelling of biblical events as a summary of them. At the end of each chapter there are links to verses and chapters of the Bible that are retold and quoted. The undoubted advantages of the publication include a good preface about the history of the creation of the Bible and geographical maps and photographs of biblical places located at the end.
How convenient is it to use this particular Bible? Let's compare reviews. The publishers characterize the book as follows: “Children’s Bible” is prepared for young readers. Long stories have been shortened and simplified. Each story is accompanied by a color picture in which the artist depicts his idea of what the story says. Since 1990, the Children's Bible has been published with an addition, in an expanded edition. Since not only children, but also many adults read this book, this edition includes some texts intended more for an adult reader.”
And here’s what I heard from one of Arapovich and Mattemlyaki’s readers: “There are a lot of incomprehensible words, right down to the names of all the rivers, towns and villages. A child of 4 years old cannot master this, but only gets confused, it is written so allegorically that all the time he has to stop and explain, explain, explain what it is about. Well, for example: “Soon the Jews came to Hebron and anointed David to reign in the southern part of Israel, Judah. Seven and a half years later, David reigned over all Israel. God fulfilled what he promised him through the prophet Samuel..." - my child did not understand anything from this phrase!"
So, if you decide to buy your child this particular children’s Bible, be prepared for the fact that the book will give him more questions than answers: the quotation-concise style of presentation contributes precisely to this (unless, of course, the reader does not limit himself to looking at the color illustrations, but tries to delve into text). Therefore, immediately purchase the Synodal Bible for yourself (if you don’t already have it) and its interpretations - soon there will be a wonderful reason to study the Holy Scriptures with the whole family!
Part two: classics of the genre for the little ones
At what age is it time to read a children's Bible to a child? Of course, all this is individual and is decided by the parents, but in most parochial schools in our city, lessons in the Law of God, in which children are introduced to the stories of the Holy Scriptures, are designed for students of five or six years old. Time-tested children's Bibles are designed for the same age of readers.
“My first sacred story in stories for children” by priest P. Vozdvizhensky
The book by priest P. N. Vozdvizhensky “My First Sacred History,” published in 1899 and going through several reprints in pre-revolutionary Russia, was recognized as the best retelling of the Bible for children of that time. This children's Bible is not large in volume - only about a hundred pages. The events of the New Testament are presented in more detail.
“The main events of the New Testament in pictures with a brief explanatory text for the youngest children” S.N. Gorbova
Book by S.N. Gorbova was published in 1900. It can also be classified as a children's Bible, although it is not a retelling of the entire Bible, but only of its part - the New Testament.
Today this book has been edited and republished under the title The Gospel for Little Ones . The narrative begins with the Birth of the Virgin Mary and ends with the chapter on the Ascension. The chapters are not long, easy to read, the text is not overloaded with words unfamiliar to a child, so it is quite suitable for children under five years old, if they suddenly develop an interest in the Gospel stories. As the retelling progresses, there are explanations. For example, in the chapter “The Entry of the Lord and Jerusalem” there is the following paragraph: “When we remember the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, we stand in the church with the willow tree. We don't have palm trees; so instead of palm branches we hold willow branches, and this day is called Palm Sunday.”
Among other things, the book is well illustrated.
“Stories for children about the earthly life of the Savior and Lord our God Jesus Christ” compiled by A.N. Bakhmeteva
The children's New Testament with this name had no equal in popularity at the end of the 19th century, like the rest of Alexandra Bakhmeteva’s books (“Selected lives of saints, summarized according to the guidance of the Chetiyh-Menai”; “Stories from the history of the Christian Church. From the 1st century to half of the 11th century,” “The Beginning of Christianity in Russia and the Baptism of Rus' under Prince Vladimir,” “Stories from Russian Church History”) by a famous writer “for children and the people.” Despite the “nationality” of her books, Bakhmeteva herself was from a noble family; for some time she lived with her parents in Rome, where she met N.V. Stankevich and I.S. Turgenev, who dedicated two poems to her (one, with changes, was included in the novel “The Noble Nest”, addressed to Lisa). After marriage, she lived permanently in Moscow, was engaged in charity and literary activities, and was elected an honorary member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. Reviewers praised her writings for their fidelity to the spirit of Scripture. Today we have the opportunity to appreciate her creations.
“Stories for Children about the Earthly Life of the Savior” was republished in 1991 in a very restrained design, more intended to be read aloud to children than to be read by the children themselves. The publishers described it as follows: “The book presents in an abbreviated form the events from the New Testament - the earthly life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the acts of the apostles. An explanation of the Gospel parables given is given. Intended primarily for young readers. Published from the 17th edition, published in Moscow in 1912. In preparing this book, the text was left virtually unchanged.”
The book can be roughly divided into four parts:
- retelling of the Gospel (in fact, these are stories about the earthly life of Jesus Christ);
- “about the parables of the Lord” - here the Gospel parables are not only retold, but also interpreted and explained;
- “conversations of the Savior” - separate interpretations are given on various words and conversations of Jesus Christ, starting with the Sermon on the Mount;
- the fourth part is a retelling of the Book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, and the very last chapter contains a brief description of the messages of the apostles and that information about the life and death of the apostles that was not included in the New Testament.
In the first two parts, chapter and verse references to the original source are provided at the beginning of each chapter. Along the way, the story tells about the main Orthodox holidays, and provides texts of prayers in Church Slavonic and Russian with explanations. The church sacraments are mentioned - Baptism, Wedding, Communion, and comments are provided. In general, the book gives the impression of a first volume, which must be followed by a sequel. And this is not surprising if you look again at the titles of Alexandra Bakhmeteva’s other books.
Later, several more editions of “Stories about the Earthly Life of the Savior” were published, this time “with pictures.” The same retelling of the Bible was published under the title “Exposition of the New Testament for Children .
Part Three: Modern Gospels for Children
The need to translate and adapt the Bible into modern languages (including into a language understandable to children) does not lose its relevance. Therefore, new versions of children's Bibles and children's Gospels are appearing. New retellings are being carried out by writers, teachers, and priests, and especially for this purpose by the existing Russian Bible Society.
“Gospel story for children” M. A. Kucherskaya
This children's Gospel primarily attracts the attention of readers due to its author-reteller: Maya Kucherskaya is a fairly well-known writer, author of the books “Modern Patericon. Reading for the discouraged" (which received the Bunin Prize in 2006 and caused a lot of noise in reading circles, Orthodox and not so) and "The God of Rain" (this novel was about).
Like everything else performed by Maya Kucherskaya, “The Gospel Story for Children” is written beautifully and talentedly, in simple, understandable language - the book is suitable for reading even for the youngest children (from the age of three!).
Reproductions of paintings of the 11th-12th centuries from the Church of St. Martin (Switzerland, Zilis) are used as illustrations.
“The Gospel retold for children” by N.V. Davydova
This is just a children's Gospel, written by a teacher. Natalya Vladimirovna Davydova is a methodologist for literary creativity at the Moscow City Palace of Children and Youth Creativity, a teacher and author of a number of children’s books, including “The Gospel and Old Russian Literature” and “The Schoolchild’s Bible Dictionary”, winner of the Prize named after. K. D. Ushinsky, member of the Writers' Union of Russia.
“The book you hold in your hands combines all four Gospels into one narrative that is simpler and more accessible to you. The Gospel is the most important holy book for a Christian,” Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II addresses the reader in his preface. And, it should be noted, this retelling of the Gospel fully deserves to have a preface written by the Patriarch.
In the book, the main Gospel events are presented simply and captivatingly, which makes them accessible to children. The footnotes to the text provide explanations and comments, as well as some plots of the Tradition. For example, from the explanations you can learn that a legion is a military unit in the Roman army, numbering about 6,000 soldiers, the mysterious fig tree is a well-known fig tree, and the narrow gates at the city gates were called “eyes of a needle,” through which it is difficult for a camel to pass.
The story is illustrated with drawings in the style of Russian icon painting and photographs of biblical places. At the end of the book there are short biographies of all four evangelists. Judging by the length - 144 pages - and the complexity of the text, the book is presumably aimed at middle school age.
“The Gospel and Prayer Book for Children” as presented by Archpriest Vladimir Chugunov
This book, written by a Nizhny Novgorod priest, is perhaps most often found on the shelves of Orthodox libraries and church shops, although it does not have any distinct advantages - well, perhaps a “built-in” prayer book. The book is made in an antique style. The language of presentation is not the most complex, but in some cases outdated words and phrases are used. The narration is told on behalf of the narrator, addressing the readers “my dears.”
The book consists of three sections: the Gospel, prayer book and preparation for confession. The first part is actually a retelling of not only the Gospel, but the entire New Testament, where the Gospel parables are placed separately at the end of the book, and elements of Church Tradition are included in the retelling of the Book of Acts. The “prayer book” section contains the texts of basic Orthodox prayers and brief comments on the topic “how to behave in church.” The section “Preparation for Confession” is an analysis of the Ten Commandments.
“Gospel stories” as presented by Yuri Tabak
The book, published by the Russian Bible Society in 1995 and republished in 2000, is an authorized translation from English of Mary Batchelor's book “The story of Jesus”. Like most translated children's Bibles, the book may seem overly “Americanized,” and the unusual drawings, more like comics, only enhance this impression. But if you take it calmly, the book is good and useful.
A detailed retelling of the Four Gospels (the book contains 175 pages) is supplemented with historical and background information explaining various aspects of the life and way of life of people of that time, and color illustrations. From the explanations you can learn about the traditions described in the Gospel, historical and geographical features mentioned in the text. Gospel parables, like commentaries, are placed on separate pages and arranged as they are mentioned in the text. Each chapter contains links to the original verses retold - this is convenient for studying the Bible.
A children's Bible can be selected for any age and for any purpose - today's variety allows this to be done.
