I received the Faith Builders Bible from Zonderkidz in exchange for a fair review. I don’t think it’s possible for me to give a fair review on anything related to Legos and the Bible, however, because I think they’re both awesome. My son agrees. Still, all opinions are my own…and my son’s.
Do you have or know a child?
Yes. Continue. No. Go make pie.
Does said child like Legos or any other creative building toy?
Yes. Continue. No. Go make pie.
Do you want to find new and fun ways for that child to “own” Scripture?
Yes. Continue. Let’s just assume you’ve all said yes at this point, partly because I’m out of pie links.
You need to take a look at the Zonderkidz Faith Builders Bible. When I say “need,” I mean your life will continue without it, but not quite at the same level of awesomeness.
Meet Elijah.
He’s 10. You’ve watched him grow up here at The Simple Homemaker and over at The Travel Bags. He is a Lego maniac. He’s also a Bible maniac. We’ve had to limit the number of Bibles and Legos he could have, since we live in such a small space.
This was Elijah’s face when we received the Faith Builders Bible:
This will be your child’s face also if you share this lovely Bible with them, say, in an Easter basket later this month.
What’s to love about the Faith Builders Bible?
You know, honestly, it’s a Bible. There’s nothing new or different about the Scripture itself, which is part of the beauty of Scripture–the truths are timeless, never changing unless we dolts change it ourselves. What the Faith Builders Bible does is add a new way of involving the child with a Bible story or truth on a hands-on, intimate level.
How does it involve the child?
Throughout the Bible are two-sided glossy pages depicting a Bible scene built entirely out of Legos…or Lego knock-offs, but let’s let laziness dictate and call them Legos. They’re super fun to look at, and I find my kids spending long stretches of time investigating one picture. (It’s also rather addicting to study the images closely and find things like Princess Leia’s head and Luke Skywalker’s torso, but I somehow don’t think that was the point of the project.)
Even more fun and beneficial is recreating the Bible scenes. Because we have an extremely limited Lego collection on the road, our constructions end up almost entirely grey (Elijah mostly has Star Wars sets in the trailer), but that’s not the point. The point is this:
By reading the story and spending several minutes to an hour creating scenes from the Bible, the kids are truly integrating the story into their lives. They’re dwelling on it and making it their own.
Hmmm…that sounds familiar.
Psalm 119:15: “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Meditate from the Hebrew hagah means to muse, which is definitely what my children are doing when they spend time carefully replicating the details of the story and telling it with their blocks. It’s a beautiful thing, even in shades of Star Wars gray.
What do the children think?
Straight from the mouth of Elijah:
“I think it’s really cool. but it needs more pictures.”
(See my “cons” below.)
He also said this:
“It would be a lot more awesome if it came with a little pack of Legos and instructions to build one of the stories.”
While I partly agree, further thought made me realize that we have become an instruction-oriented society. When my brothers were small, they created Lego worlds out of the unique and often twisted recesses of their minds, not out of a put-brick-A-on-brick-B instruction guide…and they’re brilliant (totally because of the lack of Lego instruction manuals, I’m sure)!
It has been a wonderful and much-needed stretch for Elijah to not have the proper tools and instruction to replicate these creations, but to have to adapt…because we certainly don’t have any practice adapting. Ahem. Ten people…cough cough…30-foot travel trailer…cough cough…six daughters…cough…one bathroom….
That said, this gives me a fantastic idea for filling an Easter basket: some mini-figures, some pieces that aren’t gray, the Faith Builders Bible, and lots of chocolate. Done.
How can roadschoolers or homeschoolers use this?
Here are some ways we’ve used or scheduled to use the Builder’s Bible in our homeschool/roadschool/life:
- Memorize, discuss, and apply I Thessalonians 5:11–Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up.
- Study Creation and have your children “create” whatever they want as if they were making the world–no criticism, no rules…except no eating Legos.
- Make animals for the ark.
- Discuss and build a mansion in heaven based on the verse II Corinthians 5:1.
- Tackle any Bible story and recreate it with Legos.
- Have the child re-tell the Bible story to an older sibling or parent or teach the Bible story to a youngling.
- Read a Bible story, share the related picture, pour out a pile of Legos, and trust your children–the rest will take care of itself.
- Memorize the “building block verse” that comes with each picture page; use it for recitations and copywork.
- Display a story each week, either those pictured that you recreate or others. Keep it set up in a prominent place to encourage the “musing.”
- Memorize the books of the Bible using the fun technique in the beginning of the book.
- Memorize the verses and build the creations in the front of The Faith Builders Bible (see the image below). My kids had a blast with that…but I didn’t take pictures–sorry.
What are the added bonuses?
Besides the Lego pages, the Faith Builders Bible has these:
- a glossary (or, as they call it, a dictionary),
- an index of “great Bible stories,”
- a presentation page, and
- an explanation of the translation…which may only be exciting for geeks like me.
Are there any cons?
There are no cons, per se, but if I were to have made this Bible, I would have changed a few things.
First, I would have offered just a teeny bit more guidance, because, let’s face it, we are an instruction-oriented world. I would have had two or three “how to make this cool thing” pages to show how to make, say, a cross, a manger, and a tomb…or maybe that adorable sheep they have in the front pages.
Second, I would have provided a list of suggested uses in the front of the book, like my list above, but about four pages long. But that’s because I’m bossy. Grin.
Third, I may (or may not) have expanded on the “try this” ideas. Some of the pages encourage the kids to build something specific, but most don’t, which is completely fine. While we are a creative family, sometimes I just want someone to tell me what to tell them to do…and right now I want someone to fix that convoluted sentence and this wishy washy suggestion for me. This isn’t really a con.
Fourth, I always want more of a good thing–more pictures, more scenes, more stories illustrated, more cookies. This isn’t really a con either. Two cons just seemed so half-hearted, you know.
What about the translation?
The Faith Builders Bible is the New International Readers Version translation, which the notes explain went back to the original Greek and Hebrew for accuracy. My kids (and I…silently) were annoyed by what they (and I…silently) perceived as “dumbing down,” but the book specifically states that it is intended for new readers or people new to the English language.
With that in mind, the kids (and I…vocally) gave it two thumbs up as an ideal choice for a first Bible…although they’re still diehard 1984 NIV fans and think all kids should read big words.
Overall…
The whole family gives the Zonderkidz Faith Builders Bible two thumbs way, way up. It is one book that will not be purged from our trailer.
Go buy the Bible and fill some baskets. I’m outta here…I have chocolate on the brain and have to hunt some down before I dive into those Easter bunnies I shouldn’t have snagged early. You know I jest.
By the way, here’s what other folks have to say about the Faith Builders Bible:
