We’ve made sure to have a good supply of wonderful books that point to Jesus around the house. That’s been a great choice, as our kids have both learned to love reading, and have spent their time reading books that glorify God and help them better understand his Word.
Because I’ve spent so much time building a library, and I’ve researched Christian books for children for research, I’ve had the opportunity to take a good look at a lot of Christian children’s books. Here’s what I can tell you: not every Christian children’s book is worthwhile. Some are downright strange in the way they approach the Bible.
I’ve found a few publishers I truly love every time. Christian Focus 4 Kids is one of my very favorite publishers of Christian books for children. Take a look at some books you’ll want to add to your family’s library!
Christian Books for Children
Wonderfully Made: God’s Story of Life from Conception to Birth by Danika Cooley
Wonderfully Made isn’t actually new–it was published in 2016–but it’s a keeper! Your children, ages 5-11, will learn about their wondrous journey in the womb from conception to birth. Filled with Scripture and science, this is a book that will instill your kids with an understanding of God as the Creator, and of their value as they learn they were made in the image of God.
You can get a bunch of free Wonderfully Made printables, including a lapbook! Find those here.
Who What Why Series by Danika Cooley
Who Was Moses?
From a baby born in slavery, to a prince, to an outlaw, to the leader of God’s people, Moses’ story is an amazing one. Danika Cooley draws you into the twists and turns of Moses’ life, showing how this flawed man was able to know God face to face.
It was into this nation-within-a nation that a baby was born. This wasn’t just any baby, and he didn’t grow up to be just any boy. No, this baby was born into the tribe of Levi–one of the sons of Jacob, which would become the tribe of God’s priests. One day, this special child named Moses would know God face-to-face.
Who Was Moses?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2024), page 9
What Was the Tabernacle?
Although God had rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt, they rebelled against him and worshiped other gods. So God gave Moses rules to teach his people how to love God and each other. God also gave Moses instructions for how to build a moveable temple for the Lord–the tabernacle.
This tent provided a way for the Israelites to serve and worship God his way, in reverence and awe. But the tabernacle was also full of symbols that pointed to the coming of Jesus, when God became a man and lived amongst his people.
In the beginning, before there were lakes with fish, mountains with trees, or deserts full of sand, there was God. Our God, Yahweh–whose name means I AM WHO I AM–has always been. Yahweh is. Yahweh always will be.
What Was the Tabernacle?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2024), page 7
Why Did the Exodus Happen?
God’s people had been in slavery in Egypt for hundreds of years. But God had promised their ancestors that the people of Israel would have their own land someday. They cried out to God and he heard them and rescued them. God used a shepherd, Moses, and his brother, Aaron, to rescue a nation of slaves from the grips of the ruler of the world’s most powerful kingdom. Danika Cooley invites readers to know the God who never breaks his promises, who has power over all things, and who rescues his people.
In this world, there are a great many things to know. We can learn about algebra, art, biology, and even rocket science. But, no library of knowledge in this world is more important than knowing the one true God.
Why Did the Exodus Happen?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2024), page 17
WHO WAS MARTIN LUTHER?
Martin Luther was a young man who was afraid of a thunderstorm. He was a monk seeking for salvation. He was a reformer who inspired a continent to return to the Word of God. Introduce your 8–11 year olds to this key figure in the Reformation.
Amazon | Thinking Kids Press | Christian Book
Sometimes the people who change the world come from the most unlikely of places. Places like a little town in a little country no one paid much attention to at the time. Often the people who change the course of history are not all that important seeming until you look back and see what it is they really did with their lives.
Who Was Martin Luther?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2021), page 9
WHAT WAS THE GUTENBERG BIBLE?
Johann Gutenberg invented a world–changing machine that meant people could read God’s Word for themselves. The world could share ideas, discoveries, and news. God’s Word could be quickly, inexpensively and accurately reproduced. Help your 8–11 year–olds discover how the printing press paved the way for the Reformation.
Amazon | Thinking Kids Press | Christian Book
Just fifty years after twelve Death Ships pulled into the harbor in Sicily, and a decade after an English professor secretly translated Latin words into English, a man named after his house defied all odds and created a machine that would spread words across the world like dandelion seeds. The interesting thing about history is it is like a line of dominoes standing on end. Every event is a result of things that happened before. Once things happen, they impact what comes next–just like dominoes knocking each other over.
What Was the Gutenberg Bible?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2021), page 6
WHY DID THE REFORMATION HAPPEN?
The Church was following the words of men rather than the Word of God but brave men read God’s Word and were saved from their sins. They fought for truth against the most powerful organizations of the time – the Church and the Crown. Help your 8-11 year olds explore how God’s people changed the Church, Europe and the World. This is the story of how the Church found the gospel and the people heard about Christ.
Amazon | Thinking Kids Press | Christian Book
Lost things, once they are forgotten, can be hard to find again. Have you ever cleaned the back corner of your closet, only to find something you once dearly loved? Maybe it was your favorite shirt and now you are too big to wear it.
Alas–that’s a word which means oh no!–just over five hundred years ago, God’s people lost his Word to us.
Why Did the Reformation Happen?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2021), page 6
Who Were the Abolitionists?
The abolitionists were a group of people who wanted to get rid of (abolish) slavery. This book will tell you about some of them. They came from different places and had different stories, and God called them to serve him in different ways. But they each worked to make sure that a human being, made in the image of God, could not be owned by someone else.
Included are profiles of:
- Granville Sharp
- Phillis Wheatley
- Olaudah Equiano
- Thomas Clarkson
- William Wilberforce
- Zachary Macaulay
- William Knibb
- Sojourner Truth
- Frederick Douglass
- Harriet Tubman
Courageous people do not usually intend to be brave. Instead, God’s people use the gifts he gives them to glorify God and to serve others. As we look back upon the lives of people in the past, we see how God orchestrates every event to help his children grow in character and to accomplish a specific role in his story of the world.
Who Were the Abolitionists?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2023), page 6
What Was the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad was a secret system through which runaway slaves could escape to freedom. Abolitionists hid fugitives in their houses during the day and sent them to another home at night. These safehouses became known as stations, the people who helped were station masters and conductors, and the paths people took to freedom were lines. Learn the stories of some of the people who escaped slavery this way, and the people who ran the Underground Railroad.
Have you ever taken a ride on a train? It can be a lot of fun. You board the train at the station, then enjoy the countryside as you race along the line. You disembark right where you intend to arrive.
Taking a ride on the Underground Railroad was a little different.
What Was the Underground Railroad?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2023), page 16
Why Did Slavery End?
Slavery has been around for a long time. In the Bible, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, and the Israelites were slaves in Egypt until God freed them. Even much more recently, people were kidnapped and made to work. For a while, Christians ignored that slavery is wrong and pretended that enslaved people were not their neighbors. But a lot of Christians realized they were wrong, and between 1688 and 1888 AD there was a big fight to put a stop to slavery. This is the story of these Christians who loved their neighbors and how they fought to free them.
Have you ever ignored a dirty sock on the bathroom floor, stepping around it for days? People do that with sin, too. But sin is much worse than a filthy sock. Sin violates God’s laws and separates us from him. Sin hurts other people–it is the opposite of love.
Why Did Slavery End?, Danika Cooley (Christian Focus Publications, 2023), page 16
Fascinating Bible Facts Volume 1: 103 Devotions by Irene Howat
Fascinating Bible Facts Volume 1 is a fun devotional for 7-12 year olds that helps kids explore surprising stories in God’s Word about animals, trees and forests, families, and more. Each devotion covers a Bible promise.
Fascinating Bible Facts Volume 2: 104 Devotions by Irene Howat
Fascinating Bible Facts Volume 2 is the second volume of fun facts and amazing promises from the Bible. Find out what the word Bible means, and what happened at the beginning of time…and more!
Girls Just Like You: Bible Women Who Trusted God by Jean Stapleton
Girls Just Like You is a great little devotional for children. Each devotion begins with a short passage to read from the Bible, followed by a short, retold story from the Bible, and closing with a prayer. The narrative is warm and engaging.
Girls Just Like You has daily devotions based on Bible heroes like: Sarai, Ruth, Naaman’s servant girl, Jehosheba, Esther, Anna, Mary, and Lydia.
You can read my full review here.
Boys Just Like Me: Bible Men Who Trusted God by Jean Stapleton
Boys Just Like Me is a great little devotional for children. Each devotion begins with a short passage to read from the Bible, followed by a short, retold story from the Bible, and closing with a prayer. The narrative is warm and engaging.
Boys Just Like Me includes the stories of Bible heroes such as: Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Jehoiada, Nehemiah, Peter, Stephen, and John Mark.
You can read my full review here.
How to Have a Bible Makeover by Catherine Mackenzie
How to Have a Bible Makeover is a great book for girls ages 8-11 (and a little younger if you read it aloud to them). The book talks about the phenomenon of makeovers in our culture, and about how they tend to be fleeting. But a Bible makeover, or spiritual makeover, is different. When Jesus makes her over, your daughter will be changed from the inside out.
You can read my full review here.
How to Be a Bible Warrior by Catherine Mackenzie
How to Be a Bible Warrior is a great book for boys that talks about how to be a Bible warrior. Drawing lessons from real Bible heroes, your son will learn how to fight for truth and glorify God with the good news of Jesus Christ. They’ll learn how Jesus fought sin and death and Satan and emerged victorious!
God’s Word and Jesus: What the Bible Teaches about the Gospel, Evangelism, Prayer, and Other Essential Stuff by Laura Martin
God’s Word and Jesus is a part of Laura Martin’s excellent God’s Word and You series. Your kids, ages 6-12, will understand how the Bible speaks to subjects that are immediately relevant to their every day lives, like the gospel, the church, evangelism, prayer, Bible reading, and worship.
More books in the series by Laura Martin:
- God’s Word and Your Life: What the Bible says about family, friends and other important stuff
- God’s Word and You: What the Bible says about family, friends and other important stuff
- God’s Word and Your World: What the Bible says about Creation, Languages, Missions and other amazing stuff!
Read my review of the other books in the series here.
Well, there you have it! 14 awesome Christian books for children. These are worth having in your home library. They will build memories and knowledge for your kids for years to come.
Bible Resources for Your Kids
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Christian Biographies for Kids | Christian History for Kids | Theology for Kids
Christian History Matters for Our Kids.
History matters. Now, more than ever, we see how important it is for our children to know and understand history and the Bible.
Here’s why:
- God is the sovereign ruler of all things. It’s important for our kids to see his hand in the history of nations and in the lives of both peasants and kings.
- Christian history is the story of our family history. Our kids get to see how people who love Jesus follow him.
- Understanding history can help our kids learn historic and biblical theology. They learn what the Bible says and what that means for us. They also see when the study of Scripture has taken important turns that have changed the Church.
- Reading Christian biographies and history can be a wonderful way for kids to think outside their own time and culture. God’s Church spans centuries and includes people from every nation.
- Christian biographies help kids consider their own faith, walk with Jesus, and the impact their witness may one day have on others–and on history.
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