Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Review: Illustrated Bible Dictionary

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew, we mostly get the chance to review curriculum, with the occasional "something else" thrown in.  Today is a day for one of those "something else" items.

Lifeway Christian Store provided us with copies of the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids.  A big (8.5x11") hardcover book, it is a lot thicker than I expected, at over 200 pages.  And it is bright, colorful, and inviting.

The dictionary is intended for use by 5-10 year olds, and it is supposed to contain definitions for over 750 terms.  I'm taking their word for it and not counting.

All four of my boys have enjoyed this dictionary.  I have two in their age range (6 and 10), and two older (12 and 13).

Connor - age 13, has grabbed the book to look things up as he is doing his regular Bible study.  For instance, he read some reference to the sons of Zebedee, and he couldn't remember which disciples that referred to.  Since this dictionary was right there on the table next to him, he looked up Zebedee and got his answer (James and John) along with an illustration of fishing, and a lot of other information about Zebedee.  He also got sucked in by the illustrations, and started reading about zealots and yeast.  He has turned to this book a few times since.

William - age 12, has grabbed the book and studied the maps, mostly.  There are quite a few of them.

Thomas - age 10, first went through looking at all the Roman military illustrations.  He has since gone through looking specifically for photos of an archaeological nature, either photos of ruins, or of coins, statues, etc.  He finds a picture and then works at reading the accompanying text.

Richard - age 6, is attracted by the graphics as well, though he is just as likely to be looking at the drawings or paintings.

Trina - age 4, loves the colors (blank space is filled with blocks of color) and spends a lot of time on pages like the one on the animals of the Bible.

My take?  I love this book.  I sit down and can get caught up in reading the little snippets of information.  There is a lot of meat to this book, which is awesome.  When I see "for Kids" as part of the title, I worry that they are going to oversimplify or talk down.  Not in this case.  The "for Kids" here means gorgeous illustrations and kid-friendly graphics.  The content of the text doesn't tend to be difficult, but it isn't simplistic either.  You can get a look inside at the publisher's site.

This book got 14 thumbs up in this household.  Available from Lifeway for $14.99.

You can check out what my fellow crew-mates have to say about this book at:



Any questions? I'd love to know what you would want to know in deciding whether or not this is something you want to purchase.


Disclaimer:  As part of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I did receive a complimentary book from Lifeway Christian Store.  The fact that I received complimentary products does not guarantee a favorable review.  It does guarantee a review. A fair review. But I am not going to praise something unless I think it deserves the praise.  If I don't like it, you'll hear that.  And hopefully with enough detail as to why so you can decide for yourself if what I hate about it makes it perfect for your family.  For more about my take on reviews, visit my blog post here.

1 comment:

My Blessings From Above said...

I am so glad that you liked this! I have had it in my amazon cart since Christmas. I want to get it for my boys!