The Action Bible

The Action Bible: God's Redemptive Story by Sergio Cariello (Illustrations) ISBN-13: 978-0830777440 Hardback: 832 pages Publisher: September 1, 2020 Released: David C Cook; Revised edition

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Action Bible presents more than 230 fast-paced narratives in chronological order, making it easy to follow the Bible’s historical flow and building up to the thrilling climax of God’s redemptive story. Plus, these spectacular updates take the action to a whole new level:

25 new stories showcase a more extensive exploration of God’s work in our lives.
23 expanded stories highlight additional experiences of the people who tell God’s story.
128 new pages of illustrations deliver a richer artistic experience with more close-up faces, historical details, and dramatic colors.

Readers will witness God’s active presence in the world through stories from the life of Jesus and great heroes of the faith. Let this blend of powerful imagery and clear storytelling capture your imagination and instill the truth that invites you to discover your own adventure of life with God. Sergio Cariello’s illustrations for The Action Bible leap off the page with the same thrilling energy that earned him international recognition for his work with Marvel Comics and DC Comics.


My Review:
The Action Bible is a comic-book style picture Bible for children ages 5-8, though older children will also enjoy it. The stories are straight from the Bible, but they are condensed and often contain a few comments not in the Bible as well as some commentary and historical information worked into the story to help explain events. Each new story indicated "based on Judges 16:1-20" or whatever verses. Not every event in the Bible is included, but it included a lot more than a typical children's Bible.

I really liked that the events were in chronological order and shown in their historical setting. Several psalms were worked into David's life story and several proverbs into Solomon's story. The prophets gave their (summarized) prophecies during the actual events where they were given, and Paul's (summarized) letters were shown as written when they really were written during his travels. There were even some maps of Paul's missionary travels. Also, the Old Testament flowed into the New Testament through a brief (and clearly marked as not in the Bible) historical summary of the events that happened between the two. So the Bible came across as a continuous historical account of God relating to man with a redemptive plan in action.

Sexual content and gore was smoothed over, usually implied or skipped entirely. I was also very impressed by the vivid, detailed illustrations. The illustrator did an excellent job of correctly showing the character's age, ethnicity, and culture. A few things were not quite accurate, but this book was a lot more accurate than other Children's Bibles I've seen. I'd certainly recommend this book, and I give them away to the children at two churches. These children are often seen carrying these Bibles around, and they make comments indicating that they have been reading the stories and remembering them.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.