It’s about time we had a Bible in our top ten list, and this certainly won’t be the last one we see in this list of the Top Ten Christian Books for Kids.  The NIrV Advernturer Bible for Early Readers contains the complete text of The New International Reader’s translation recommended for younger children.  The NIV translation is one of the best selling translations of the Bible ever, and the NIrV is the NIV slightly modified to make it easier for children to read and understand.  As explained in the NIrV for kids to understand:

“We used the words of the NIV when we could.  When the NIV words were long, we used words that were shorter.  We wanted to use words that are easy to understand.  We explained words that might be hard to understand in a dictionary at the back of the Bible.  We also made the NIV sentences much shorter.”

This is the version of the Bible I use for teaching my kindergarten and first grade room at church.  Although I personally prefer other versions of the Bible (you’ll see at least one of those later in this list), this is a great translation for kids – especially younger kids.  The shorter sentences make “repeat after me” much easier for the kids to follow.  Although the NIV and NIrV are phrase-for-phrase translations, they do remain as faithful to the original text as possible.  The Adventurers Bible explains it this way for kids to understand:

“We wanted the NIrV to say just what the first writers of the Bible said.  So we kept checking the Greek New Testament as we did our work.  That’s because the New Testament’s first writers used Greek.”

As for the compilation of additional information and inserts, I love this Bible.  It offers useful, kid-friendly tools throughout the text.  “Words to Treasure” point out key Bible verses worth remembering.  “Did You Know?” inserts point out interesting facts to be learned from the Bible.  “People in Bible Times” offers short descriptions of key biblical personalities.  “Life In Bible Times” helps transport the kids back to the times the Bible is telling them about.  “Live It!” offers opportunities to apply what the Bible is saying to your life right now.  In addition, there are short , practical and helpful introductions to each book as well as various charts scattered throughout the text.   Finally, this Bible is visually appealing from the front cover (who says a Bible needs a boring plain leather cover?) to the green leaf edging (and, yes that was a play on gold-leaf edging) to the full color inserts contained inside the Bible!

Finally, the full color inserts written specifically for kids are a treat that you won’t want to miss.  They include pictorially fun images covering topics like:

• How To Use This Bible
• Famous People of the Bible
• Ten Commandments for Kids
• Bible Themes
• Famous Old Testament Prophets
• Love Passage For Kids
• Questions Kids Ask
• Famous Children of the Bible
• How to Pray
• What is Faith?
• Life Of Christ
• Getting to Know Jesus
• How to Be A Christian
• The 12 Disciples

Here’s what Christianbook.com had to say about The Adventurer Bible for Early Readers:

“Younger children can share in the love for God’s Word with The Adventure Bible for Young Readers! Designed specifically for children still learning to read, this Bible is perfect for those who are ready to explore the Bible on their own. It is filled with colorful illustrations and important facts and figures throughout to enhance a child’s personal Bible study. Based on the bestselling Adventure Bible, this Bible has the full text of the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV–“The NIV for Kids!”), which is easy for young children to read and understand. The Adventure Bible for Young Readers will instill a life-long habit of turning to God’s Word for guidance. Recommended for ages 6 to 10.”