How to be a Bible Beauty by Catherine Mackenzie {Review}

A great read for girls ages 5-11 on the biblical standard of beauty.

I’d like to thank Christian Focus 4 Kids for sending me How to Be a Bible Beauty in return for my honest review.

Beauty is a big deal in our current day culture, isn’t it? It feels to me like girls are targeted younger and younger by companies and media.

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Actually, I think beauty has always been a big deal–for all ages. As a student of history, I’ve noticed that early texts and archaeology just seem to confirm that the human heart is oriented toward outward expressions of beauty. Even Jezebel, an evil woman of power and cunning, painted her eyelids and fixed her hair before Jehu came to confront her over her sinful behavior (2 Kings 9:30). Of course, that didn’t work out so well for her. She received justice for her actions regardless of her physical appearance.

I think it’s important that we equip our girls with a knowledge of biblical beauty. They need to know and understand how God judges beauty–through the condition of our heart. Catherine Mackenzie’s new How to Be a Bible Beauty (Christian Focus 4 Kids, 2015) is a great resource to help girls understand the biblical standard of beauty. It’s also a fun read.

Ms. Mackenzie highlights the lives of eight biblical women: Rebekah, Leah, Ruth, Martha and Mary, the woman who anoints Jesus with perfume (in the Synoptic Gospel accounts she is not named), Dorcas, and the woman of Proverbs 31 (an allegory of the biblical standard of wisdom and beauty which Ms. Mackenzie uses to help girls understand the application in their own lives). Rebekah gets two chapters, one which discusses her work ethic and response to God’s calling, and one that covers her rebellion against God.

Each chapter begins with a fun multiple choice quiz, explains the life of the woman being highlighted, then moves into application. There is a section on Beauty Tips which covers a biblical concept relating to beauty and includes related Scripture verses to read. There is also a section on Godly Beauty, which helps girls apply the concept being covered. This begins with a verse, and includes an application and passages to look up. Think About Jesus shows the manner in which Christ displayed the type of beauty being examined. There are more verses to look up in this section.

The book is 117 pages with a larger text, plenty of white space, and pen and ink drawings in each short chapter. This would be a great read aloud for girls ages 5-8, and a good devotional or fun read for independent readers up until about age 11.

Catherine Mackenzie has another volume in the same vein as this one called How to Be a Bible Princess, with chapters on the princesses (good and bad) of the Bible. I’ve included purchase information for both below, as they look like a great set.

You can purchase How to Be a Bible Beauty at