God’s Big Plans for Me Storybook Bible by Rick Warren Book Review

by Heather Bock

Read to the end to find out how you can enter my drawing for one of these Bibles. It would make a great Christmas present for any young child you know.

My five year old son and I recently finished reading a storybook Bible together, and I knew he was ready for a more mature one. Around that time, I was given the opportunity to review Rick Warren’s new storybook Bible based on his bestseller The Purpose Driven Life, called God’s Big Plans for Me. It was great timing, and I was excited to be able to offer a quality children’s Bible to one of my readers.

I started reading it to my son soon after I received it. He and I both enjoy the beautiful illustrations. Every page is a delight to see. It includes the typical stories you would expect in a children’s Bible–forty to be exact.

Each day begins with a short message as an introduction to the story, a message also related to The Purpose Driven Life. For example, the introduction to the story of Moses talks about how God has big plans for us, that He planned us to be exactly who we are from before He even made the world, just as He planned everything about Moses. The introduction to the story of the birth of Jesus explains that all is for the glory of God, which is best seen in Jesus, the Light of the World.

Honestly, I have trouble engaging my five year old in the introduction paragraphs. He just isn’t drawn in by them. I find them to hold good messages, but I think my son might be missing those words. Maybe if he were a little more mature, he would enjoy that part better.

However, he does settle in and listen to the story itself. He understands the action well and can connect it to other tellings of the story in other Bibles we’ve read or other times it’s been told at church. Each story is only a few pages long with large, engaging pictures, so it’s easy to hold even a young boy’s attention.

I appreciate that at the end of each story is a recap of the main message Warren wants to convey through the story with a sentence labeled “Think.” Under “Remember,” he includes a verse that emphasizes that message, and then he always adds a question to help the child apply the message to the real world. My own son listens passively to the “Think” and “Remember” sections, but he almost always finds a good answer to the question, which shows he’s been engaged with the message.

I have enjoyed this Bible and am glad I’ve been able to have it to read to my five year old. I like that it doesn’t just give him the stories but teaches him what one of the messages of each story can be that can apply to him. After we finish it, and we move on to another Bible, I can imagine keeping it and coming back to it when he’s a bit older and can understand the messages in it better.

If you’re interested in the book, go here for more information.

Giveaway of God’s Big Plans for Me Storybook Bible

If you have a child who would benefit from this Bible, maybe as a Christmas gift, I would love for you to enter my drawing for it.

If you’d like to enter in my drawing for this free Bible (normally retailing at $17.99):

• Click the button “follow” in the place under my picture (top right of a computer and way down below the comments on a phone) where it says, “Follow Blog Via Email.” Once you hit the button, it should give you a place to type in your email address. You may have to follow up with an email sent to you to fully subscribe, so check your spam folder if it doesn’t arrive in your inbox.
• Please notify me in a comment of your name so I will know who to congratulate if you win!

To earn more entries, or if you’re already following my blog,

• Share this post via social media. Each share to a different social media venue earns you one entry (up to three).
• Let me know in a comment where you’ve shared.
• Notify me of your name.

Giveaways are open to residents of the continental U.S. and Canada and are only open to those who have not won from me in the last year.

I will announce the winner on Saturday, November 11, so look for it! If I don’t hear from the winner within a week, I will draw another name. Thank you!

Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.