Special Journaling Bible for Girls, Ages 6-10: My Review

SPECIAL JOURNALING BIBLE FOR GIRLS

As a #BibleGatewayPartner and member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid, I received a free copy of the NIrV journal the Word™ Bible for Girls: My First Bible for Tracing Verses, Journaling, and Creating Art, in exchange for my honest review. The cover is perfect for a special journaling Bible for girls. With its varying shades of pink and blue designs, almost any girl would find it attractive.

The pages are sturdy, and there are wide margins on each side of a double page with plenty of room to write out a favorite verse or draw a picture. In some of the margins there are lines to guide your writing and a few already have a verse printed, giving you an option to trace and/or color. There are also unlined margins, but the lines from the other side do show through slightly.

The print is a good size – not too large or too small – and dark enough to read easily. The sentences are shorter, which makes it easier for those just learning to read. According to the Bible Gateway store description, the reading level is third grade. I think some of the verses were easy enough already, but I do applaud the translators for wanting to make the reading more accessible.

AN EXAMPLE OF THE DIFFERENCE

Here is the NIV translation of a favorite:

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
(Psalm 56:3-4a)

Here is the NIrV of the same verses:

When I’m afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
 I trust in God. I praise his word.
    I trust in God. I am not afraid.
(Psalm 56:3-4a)

The NIrV may be easier for children to memorize, but I question whether it would be confusing when they outgrow the children’s Bible. For myself, I memorized verses in a couple of different translations. So, now when I try to quote a verse, I sometimes mix the translations. In the end, that really isn’t a problem, because the meaning of the scripture doesn’t change.

MY ILLUSTRATION IN THE SPECIAL JOURNALING BIBLE FOR GIRLS

As part of a review, we were encouraged to do some of our own artwork in the Bible. I chose the Psalm 56 verses to draw from in my illustration, and highlighted the verses in the chapter.

Using gel pens, I wrote the words and colored them in with the same pens. Then I added a butterfly sticker and a short piece of washitape covered with flowers. Though the paper is pretty thick, the gel pens did show through on the other side, whereas colored pencils might not. But since it’s on the outside margin, that is easily remedied. You could cover it by cutting out a picture from a magazine or other art paper, then pasting over the place it showed through.

MY CONCLUSION

All in all, I am pleased with this special journaling Bible for girls.

• An attractive cover
• A hardback, but the pages open wide and lay flat, making it easy to draw or write in the margins
• Includes a blue, satin ribbon marker
• Not just paraphrased stories but a translation of the whole Bible
• Plenty of room to draw, color, doodle, trace and write verses

I believe a young girl would enjoy having a Bible where she could draw, color, or write out her thoughts as she reads. Then, when she gets older and moves on, she will have this Bible as a childhood memory to keep.

• 
• 
• 
•