How do you pick out products for your home?

When we go to the grocery store, we all probably have a process we go through to make sure the fruit we select is ripe. Maybe we examine what color it is, how soft it feels when squeezed. Maybe some of us are even those hold-it-up-to-our-ear-and-let-it-talk-to-us types!

While we might not consciously think about it in as much detail, we all probably go through a similar process when we choose books, Bibles, and videos for our kids to use at home. We check out the cover, we read the product description, we turn it over to see which press published it. But it's sometimes hard to get the full story on a product via a quick flip-through.

That's why we wanted to take you behind the scenes and show you some of the things we consider when we're developing products. We always want the content to go way beyond just fun characters or bright cover art. We are intentional to weave in learning methods that are age-appropriate for the kids who will be using the items so that kids don't just watch the videos or read the books but also interact with them in ways that encourages learning to stick!

Our goal in developing the Spark Story Bible was to design a Bible that would accompany kids through many years of early childhood. We aimed for features that could appeal to the youngest listener, sitting on the lap of a caregiver, to children in the lower elementary grades who could begin reading the stories for themselves with all the playful sound effects, lively dialogue, and action-packed text.

Every story includes three features that optimize the child's experience:

Captivating Illustrations

When we were selecting an illustrator for this Bible, it was immediately clear that Peter could offer something different than most children’s Bible illustrators: a bright, colorful style of illustration; a deep understanding of the emotions felt by the people in the stories; and a sense of humor! The results of his work? Hundreds of illustrations that invite kids into Bible stories without even needing to read a word. And Peter was also a terrific creative partner to work with when it came to ensuring that the skin tones and hair colors of the characters were dark so that we were true to the features of Middle Eastern people in the stories. We think it’s really important that kids see and know that Jesus had brown skin and hair, as did others living in the Holy Land during Bible times.

Powerful Storytelling

Our team of authors had quite a task. How do you introduce children to the story of God and God’s people in a way that is developmentally appropriate? This meant we tuned in to the vocabulary words, emotional tone, and underlying theological meanings of each story. We also made sure that story details matched the biblical texts and, when available, historical information. Throughout the development process, our team read every manuscript aloud several times to ensure that the words sounded good to the listener and felt good to the reader.  

Squiggles the Caterpillar

Squiggles is a favorite feature of the Spark Story Bible for many children. Squiggles was actually a way for us to execute an important strategy throughout the Spark Story Bible. Specifically, Squiggles gives visual cues to young children about the emotional tone of the story on a particular page or spread. If you look at the picture of anxious Daniel in the lions’ den, Squiggles looks pretty concerned too. When the man with leprosy returns to thank Jesus while the other nine rush away, Squiggles and Jesus are both smiling. And throughout the stories of Holy Week, Squiggles helps kids see that these are somber stories. A few pages later, you see Squiggles overjoyed at the feet of the risen Jesus. Squiggles goes beyond cuteness to help kids make connections with the people and stories in the Bible.

Learn more about the Spark Story Bible.

Originally Published 9/22/2015