The Big Picture Story Bible

First sentence from the Old Testament section: The Bible is God's story, and it begins with these big words: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Do you know how God created everything? Simply by speaking words. Imagine, making the world with words! Strong words. Powerful words. With words God created everything!

First sentence from the New Testament section: Years passed without a single word from God. And the years turned into many years, and the many years turned into hundreds of years. And the great promises of God seemed to fade away. Israel became less important in the world. Other nations became great--strong nations, powerful nations, whose kings ruled over God's people. One such king...was Caesar show more Augustus.

The Big Picture Story Bible is one of my favorite bible story books. Why? Because it presents the Bible not as a series of entertaining, informational, educational, inspirational stories but as a unified story. The Bible does in fact have a big picture. If you miss the big picture, you miss the point. By understanding--grasping, appreciating--the big picture, you are enabling yourself to appreciate the smaller as well because you can see how everything fits, everything belongs.

The Big Picture Story Bible has twenty-six illustrated stories. Together they tell one big story. These stories build upon one another. They are interconnected. Everything is building up to the big climax--the appearance of Jesus Christ. The first eleven stories cover the Old Testament. The remaining fifteen stories cover the New Testament.

The Bible is for believers young and old. The story it tells is grand, glorious, but above all TRUE and TRUSTWORTHY. Yet people of all ages can struggle to read the Word for themselves. Perhaps because it seems so strange and otherworldly. Perhaps because it is intimidating. Perhaps because they don't know where to begin. A familiarity with the BIG PICTURE of the Bible could be the very boost one needs to begin to ACTUALLY read the Bible.

The Big Picture Story Bible gives readers of all ages the orientation they need to grasp not only the story but the theology behind the story. It covers the basics of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. It is not so thorough and comprehensive that it would ever--could ever--take the place of the Word itself. That would be silly. But by showing you the structure of the Word, how everything fits together, how every story belongs to the whole, it can be a considerable help.

I think this one is for readers of all ages. I definitely think parents with children should have this one in their homes. (Christian parents and grandparents). Parents have an awesome responsibility to teach and instruct their children in the faith. It isn't anyone else's responsibility to do so for you. It is a great task, but it isn't an impossible one. It's never too early. It's never too late. You might feel overwhelmed, but you can learn alongside your children. You can go on this glorious, wonderful journey together.

But I also think adults without children could benefit from this one as well. There are a million excuses why believers don't read the Bible. Grasping the big picture and holding onto the big picture could be a great stepping stone into actually reading the Bible and tasting for yourself the sweetness of the Lord. show less

Grasping the continuity of the Bible is difficult, even for adults. It's easy to read it as many separate stories, each one written to reveal something about God but not necessarily connected to one another. But to view the Bible like this is to miss the "big picture," the story line that is hidden in the pages, waiting to be discovered. That story line is the Christ-centered story of redemption.

In The Big Picture Story Bible, David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker simply yet superbly tie together the major stories of the Bible and show how each of these stories continually point to the fulfillment of God's promise of redemption. The book begins with creation and the Fall, showing how Adam and Eve, who were once joyful in the fellowship of show more God, disobeyed. But, even from the very beginning, "God gave Adam and Eve a hint that he would not always be angry with them. God promised that one day someone would come and crush Satan's power over people. But that day was a long way off." (pp.48-49) Through the stories of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, the prophets and other, we continually read the reminders of God's promise. By the time you get to the New Testament, there's a great expectation that surely something is going to happen and soon! "What a very big day! What God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David had arrived in the birth of Jesus!" (p.256-257). The book tells of Jesus' ministry, his death, burial and resurrection. It closes with another promise that Jesus would return again and that "God's forever people will one day live in God's forever place under God's forever rule." (p.450)

David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker take what is often simply told as individual Sunday School stories and writes the story of the Bible in such a way as to make it accessible to children. Each page is filled with colorful drawings that beautifully, yet simply illustrate what is happening. The book does take a few liberties in describing some situations, like giving the background for why Caesar decided to count all the people in his kingdom. Additionally, many details about Biblical events or stories are not covered, but are briefly mentioned, if at all. But keep in mind that the purpose of this story Bible is to look at the big picture and, as a result, many smaller details or stories may not be mentioned.

Every family with young children should have a copy of this story Bible. It certainly gave me a great reminder of how the Bible all fits together. The Big Picture Story Bible is an excellent way to teach how the whole Bible is about God, how each story builds to the coming of Jesus and how even today, we wait for the final chapter to be written in the story of redemption.

(A huge "Thank you" to Crossway for providing a copy of this book for review.) show less

The Big Picture Story Bible is a big, thick children’s book of Bible stories, from Genesis to Revelation, revealing who God is and what He does. Illuminating the storyline of the Bible through an easy-to-understand narrative and colorful and lively illustrations, this book brings me a sense of nostalgia and wonderment. And I love that it contains a presentation page for gift-giving.

What a wonderful resource to teach my grandkids about God and His love for us. I cherish the memories of sitting with my grandmother as she read from a book of Bible stories on my yearly visits, and those memories and are priceless and instrumental in my faith and foundation. That’s what I hope to achieve with my grandkids as I read to them from this show more invaluable book.

There is nothing lacking in this book. It is beautiful, meaningful, soul-piercing, and life-changing. I love everything about it, the simplicity, the bold, detailed illustrations, and especially the hours of bonding, love, and joy it provides for me and my grandkids.

First Line: The Bible is God’s story, and it begins with these big words: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genre: Children’s Bible Stories
Author: David R. Helm
Page Count: 456
Reading Age: 2-5 (although it’s valuable for all ages!)

#CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.
Opinions are 100% my own.
A 2025 Fav♡rite show less

As a Father, pastor and teacher of the Bible, one of the things I want my congregation and family to always see is the big picture of Scripture. This is difficult when you are accustomed to plowing through the Bible one verse at a time. Sometimes we need to take a step back and examine the forest. There is a wonderful book for the five and under crowd that paints the "big picture" of Scripture better than any story Bible I have read. The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm with illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker is in a class all its own.

We have read many Bible books every morning at our breakfast table and The Big Picture stands out amongst them all. It captures the progressive story of redemption and remains Christ-centered show more throughout. The theme of the book is "God's people in God's place under God's rule." For adults this theme is related to the discipline of "Biblical Theology" which seeks to show that while Scripture contains sixty-six books, it is still one book with one central message. Graeme Goldsworthy is one theologian that has articulated this theme in his own books for "bigger people."

The illustrations are bold, colorful and eye-catching for young and old alike. I have found myself admiring the artwork while my son waits patiently for me to finish reading the story. The pages are large and easy on the eyes. One of the things I really enjoy about this work is that it opens the way for discussion in so many areas. Our three and a half year old loves it and has it essentially memorized. Though he can’t read he can basically recite the story page by page. I can’t recommend this wonderful work too much and I hope it will enjoy a wide readership amongst children who will grow up and one day follow the “Forever King.” show less

What differentiates this Childrens Bible from others is that it seeks to understand the Bible from a historical-redemptive perspective. Rather than looking at individual stories, this book seeks to connect all these stories together pointing ultimately to Christ. This is welcomed in an age were people are now more and more unfamiliar with how the Bible fits together. How much more helpful since this is for children. They ought to learn to read their Bibles with the Bigger Picture in mind!!!

Our family loves picture Bibles, and in a home filled with children ranging from one to six years old, it’s pretty easy to see why. The Big Picture Story Bible is both one of the more substantial picture Bible’s we own while also somewhat paradoxically being one of the shortest in length. With 453 hardcover bound pages and measuring around 9 x 9 inches, The Big Picture Bible is big.

Not only is this popular children’s Bible filled with big pictures, but it also focuses on the big picture of God’s over-arching plan for redemption through His Son that is present from beginning to end of the Bible. Focusing on the themes of Jesus’ Kingship, God’s holy book, and God’s special place, young children are given a fly-by voyage show more through the sections of scripture that best illuminate these themes.

Retold in author David Helm’s words in an easy-to-read font and vocabulary at a grade 2/3 level, this Bible is easy for the two-and-three-year-old crowd to understand and dig into when read aloud, as well as being simple for early readers to move through under their own steam.

One of my favorite aspects about this Bible is that Helm skillfully depicts the endless disobedience of God’s people, his loving discipline, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit to finally change the hearts of God’s chosen people. Scripture references aren’t provided for the 26 parts of this title, which is likely because of the huge sweep across time

The Big Picture Story Bible is easy to read through quickly to provide small children with some ‘hooks’ for future biblical knowledge. Whenever I came to the end of a section, my little ones asked for another, and another; each part can be read aloud in approximately 15-20 minutes. Helm integrates questions into the text that ask children what they think is going to happen next, and prompt them to remember events that have already occurred. My daughter’s love contributing their thoughts, so this was one of their favorite parts of our daily readings.

My oldest daughter is more familiar with the full body of Bible stories and the details associated with them, so she was disappointed when her favorite details and stories were skipped over in this overview. She’d suddenly announce, “Hey, that’s not fair! They just skipped the part about the golden calf!” as we read about Moses and the Ten Commandments. Helm does write in broad sweeps and leaves much uncovered – if your children are really into detail, this likely isn’t the best choice for you, but for preschoolers unfamiliar with the larger plan and scope of salvation, this is a friendly, engaging option.

Illustrator Gail Shoonmaker’s brings the text to life with large, loose watercolors with clearly delineated pencil borders. They created a lot of interest for my younger children, who were always asking what was going on in the pictures. The jewel-toned paintings feature some great points-of-view, showing worshippers looking up to heaven as though from God’s perspective looking down, of those surrounding the cross as though from the perspective of Christ, and so on. The characters are depicted in mainly Caucasian skin tones (always a annoyance), and the highly stylized hair on some people was a bit distracting. Those two points aside, we all greatly enjoyed Shoonmaker’s work that so enlivens the simple text.

The Big Picture Story Bible is a great choice for parents of children with short attention spans who are just cutting their teeth on picture Bibles. With an average of four sentences on each page, and lots to look at visually, there’s no way little ones will lose interest as the story proceeds. My children always scamper over to the couch when I open its pages, and I’m sure yours will too.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com show less

This is another book that I read regularly with my boys. Again, this helps see the Bible's storyline in the hope that they will see themselves as part of the Story, and join God in what he has done in his great son, Jesus the Christ.