Bible Story Conundrum

Book Week is back for round two!

One side effect of having a son who loves reading is that he outgrew toddler books ages ago. Though well meaning friends still give us board books as gifts, A prefers the kind of book that requires him to sit and listen for fifteen minutes or more, with or without pictures.

This is great, of course. But there is a problem. Most story books are geared at school age kids. Fairy Tales, Bible Stories, and Bernstein Bears all have one thing in common: their entire plot revolves around teaching kids how to navigate the difficult things in their lives. Watch out for the Big Bad Wolf. Trust God and do what's right, even if you're up against a giant who wants to kill you. Be nice to your classmates, even if you're getting teased by bullies. Don't be afraid of the dark.

I'm glad these stories are out there because kids need to heed these warning and know how to find the way out. Stories like these have been the bedrock of teaching morality and values to kids around the world since the dawn of time.

But when we in our house read these stories they are not meeting a felt need as they would for older children. For my toddler they are introducing fears and dangers and complications to life for which he has no first hand experience. And isn't it backwards to teach him how to solve problems he does not yet have? Do I need to introduce him to the concept of not being scared of the dark when it hasn't even occurred to him?

Most stories I can heavily edit, or just live without. But where this really gets confusing for me is with Bible Stories. I don't want to edit them or live without them. But let's face it - those Bible stories we tell our kids are about genocide and torture and betrayal and violence and all sorts of scary adult topics. Yes, they have high redemptive value, important Divine truth, and yes, some of them have animals. But does that mean I want to tell them to my toddler?

Here's an example: the other day A brought me a Bible Story Book and asked me to read it to him. How can I refuse? But he wanted to hear the story of "the big boat." I tried to distract him - I don't even know how he heard about Noah - but he was intent. So I read him the story. I edited out the death and massacre of all living things and just told about the boat and the rain and the animals. Even so, he responded by saying "this is just a pretend story, right? This is a scary story...but just pretend...right?"

And I haven't even mentioned my concerns with the theological messages in many watered down "toddler Bibles."

I very much do want to introduce my faith in an age-appropriate way to my sons, so I've poured through many, many Bible Story books, all to my dissatisfaction. I've even considered writing my own, but that's not something that could be built in a day.

In the end I keep coming back to the Bible Story book I grew up with, that my own parents read to me each night. I looked around to see if it was still for sale and found that a new version of it has come out just this month. So, with the help of my parents I've found the falling-apart Bible Story Book I remember from childhood, and I've gotten a copy of the new version from Tyndale as well.

They still aren't written for two year olds; this year's version specifically states that it is intended for children ages 5-8. But I appreciate that these two books take the stories and often even the text directly from the Bible, in contrast to the well watered down versions I typically find in Bible Story books. Instead of asking questions like "what color is Jesus' coat?" it asks "How did Job show he was sorry for being unkind?" Also, there are more stories than in your average Bible Story Book, so more exposure to the full content of the Bible. A isn't ready for all the stories yet, but when he is I truly feel like these books are "home" to me, and that I have a familiar and trustworthy place where we can explore together.

Once I finally caught on that Holy Week was last week, I turned first to the Classic Bible Story Book. We ended up reading the story of Palm Sunday, Jesus celebrating Passover, and Jesus washing his disciple's feet over and over again throughout the week. I guess that's how I begin - with truth that can be handled at age two and, when he's old enough enough, adding the more difficult layers on to the foundation we've begun to lay.

I'm still going to have to navigate deciding how and when to introduce A and B to concepts like God sending a flood to destroy all living things, people being eaten by lions, the death of God's son by way of crucifiction. These aren't easy things. I don't want to be overprotective - at all. I think that a solid understanding of both sides of the coin - life and death, pain and joy - is paramount to being a healthy person. But the question is when, and how.

I'm up for any sensetive, respectful anecdotes of what worked for you. And I'm grateful to have found my old Bible Story Book that is familar to me and I trust, and its new counterpart. I didn't turn out so bad, right?