Orthodox Children’s Book List Recommendations: Bible Stories

Orthodox Bible Stories for Children

(More sections coming soon!)

“Don’t think that only monks need to learn the Bible; Children about to go our into the world stand in greater need of Scriptural knowledge.” + St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, Homily 21

Orthodox Childrens Illustrated Bible — great resource for Bible stories with iconish illustrations and also available in a Greek version.

Christ in the Old Testament by Fr. Thomas Hopko & illustrated by Niko Chochel — Side-by-side comparisons of Old Testament prophecies to Christ’s fulfillment of them with Chocheli’s interesting drawings

Wise Joseph and His Brothers by Catalin Grigore & illustrated by Adela Maria Calistru — The story of how Joseph came to be sold into slavery by his brother, how God works all things together for good, and how Joseph forgave them. This is an important story for children to be familiar with because it is rich in typology of Christ.

The Holy Prophet Moses and the People of Israel by Catalin Grigore & illustrated by Adela Maria Calistru — The story of how Moses grew up to lead the people to the Promise Land. The hymnography of the Church is rich in references to the life of Moses, so children will benefit from becoming familiar with it.

The Book of Jonah by illustrated by Niko Chocheli — This book is a reading of the  Book of Jonah, which is a very short book of the Bible. The illustrations are amazingly detailed. This is a great book to read for Holy Saturday, as the Book of Jonah is read in its entirety during the 15 Old Testament Readings in the Divine Liturgy that day.

Noah and the Ark of Salvation
Baby Moses
Moses’ Flight from Egypt
Jonah’s Journey to the Deep

These small booklets also have companion books about the Twelve Great Feasts, Great Friday, Holy Saturday, and Pascha. They are written poetically and have a nice rythem when read aloud. These particular stories about Noah, Moses, and Jonah are important stories for children to be familiar with as they point to Christ in the Church’s hymnography and theology.

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