As a mom with almost no artistic skills, I'm always on the lookout for art curriculum and supplements that can give my kids the kind of art instruction and encouragement that I never could.  Art and the Bible for Children couples the helpful instruction of well-loved artist Barry Stebbing with 59 favorite Bible stories--36 stories from the Old Testament and 23 from the New Testament. The stories have been written at an elementary level by 15-year-old homeschool student Joshua Olds, and he's done a great job. His style sometimes addresses the child directly, as in this retelling of creation:

Let's close our eyes for a moment. What do you see? Nothing. That's what it looked like before God created the world. God is the greatest creator who ever lived. Go outside and look around you. He created everything: the birds, the flowers, the trees, even the sun and the sky. This is the story of how He did it.

Most of the stories are narratives brought to life for the younger crowd:

The next day a dark cloud of flies could be seen on the horizon. "Buzz-z-z-z-z." "Buzz-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z." The cloud rumbled, becoming larger and larger and finally sweeping over the land. But not a single fly could be seen in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived. There were flies everywhere--flies in the soup, flies in the water, flies buzzing around the Egyptians' heads. Pharaoh soon became disgusted and called for Moses and Aaron and consented, "I will let you make sacrifices to your God, but you must stay here to make your sacrifices."

Geared toward the elementary-aged child, Art and the Bible for Children presents the story for the child to read (or be read to), has discussion questions after each story, and then includes a related art lesson. My 10-year-old daughter loved doing this on her own, and she worked at each illustration with concentration and great effort. I was able to hand her the book and the art pages and let her just go for it on her own.

Art and the Bible for Children is a quality bound hardback with full-color illustrations drawn by other students. There are numerous examples of pencil sketches, ink, and mixed-media collages. My daughter loved this part; she really enjoyed seeing how other kids had illustrated the stories she was about to draw. As a mom, I appreciated that the art pages were all ready for her, each lesson on a new page she could use right there.

If you are looking for something to get your young artist drawing regularly, Art and the Bible for Children might fit the bill quite nicely. Additionally, however, I think Art and the Bible for Children would make an excellent Bible curriculum for your own home, Sunday school, or Bible club. I'm sure it will be used over again here with the kiddos coming up right below our 10-year-old.