ICB, Golden Princess Sparkle Bible, Hardcover: International Children’s Bible

We bought this two Easters ago as a gift for our daughter. It’s great! Sparkly, but not over the top, so as she gets older she’ll still like it. Very well made. It still looks new and she uses it frequently. The full color photos are beautiful! And I love that all kinds of skin colors are found in the pages! These stories are about people from mostly Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Roman Empire. Fair to dark, there are a lot of people represented within the pages! And I think that the translation is simple and doesn’t take away or add to the Word. I am considering buying it for our second daughter. The only thing holding me back is our oldest might not want to have matching covers 😆 I wish there was another cover option for that reason only.

I bought this bible for my 9 year old granddaughter and she loves it.

Easy to read and easy to understand. Really colorful pictures.

I need to give you a disclaimer. I read the KJV bible for most of my study and personal devotions. My kids read and still read the KJV bible. I’m a fan of the KJV bible. And it’s not because I think there’s really anything “better” about it from a translation standpoint or that it’s the only translation of the bible we should be reading. I just love the rich, deep, and poetic language it offers. And because it's unique language, it's easier to memorize too.That said, I’m also a fan of getting bibles into the hands of kids as soon as they can hold it respectfully and not just rip the pages out. So the idea of a sparkly cover and a special bible just for little girls intrigued me. Indeed I can imagine many a young girl eagerly receiving this bible from a parent or grandparent and treasuring it for many years. It’s sweet.While my first “test” of the ICB translation was a fail – Genesis 1 – I was expecting not to like anything about this 3rd grade level translation. And I personally don’t think it’s necessary for little ones to have everything simplified for them. In fact, in a strong Christian family mom and dad should be available to answer those questions (or try to) about “what does this mean?” etc.Back to the fail… Genesis one. What’s the problem? In the beginning God created the “sky” and the earth? No. It’s “heavens” and the earth. And that’s important. Why? Because a few verses later (v8) you’ve got God dividing the waters into sky and water below. I know, I know. Picky. But this is the Bible. And although “the heavens” is a pretty abstract concept, what a great opportunity to talk about how big, awesome, and beyond our comprehension this great God of ours is – even from the very first words of the Holy Bible.Ok, so after looking and Genesis 1 and assuming I wouldn’t like the rest of the translation, I paged through to some familiar passages and was very pleasantly surprised.One other "problem." The pictures. Yes I know it’s like an unwritten requirement that children’s bibles have cute pictures and that they must have pictures of some artist’s interpretation of what the Savior might have looked like, I’m not a fan for many reasons, including the second commandment. But I won’t go there. I’ll just use an exacto knife and cut the pictures out before I give the bible to some sweet child I know.Just a note, this is not a Children’s Story Bible – this is the actual text of the bible from Genesis to Revelation.So, while I can’t totally recommend this children’s bible, I can’t say “stay away” either.I was given a copy of the bible in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and I was not (obviously) require to leave a positive review.

In our home, sparkles are awesome and the more something shines bright the better! When we are out and about if something sparkles, it grabs our attention and we say, "Sparkle!" This would be similar to the idea of saying "Squirrel!" when you are distracted mid-sentence in a conversation.So when given the opportunity to review, ICB Golden Princess Sparkle Bible: International Children’s Bible (ICB) I did not need to think twice and after receiving it, I was so very glad that I did! Not only does the cover present a glittery presence on the outside cover, the inside pages brightly shines God's word just for young readers. Anyone who has read the bible in church for spiritual growth and understanding or at school for its highly competent literature knows that the language used in a standard King James Version (KJV) can be difficult to decode. The ICB version takes this barrier away with the use of a lower level vocabulary (3rd grade reading level) as well as a simpler font making it easier for independent reading. This makes it possible for them to focus on the stories rather than the difficult text.Take Hebrews 11:1 for example,Faith means being sure of the things we hope for. And faith means knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.It’s easy to understand yet not a bit of its meaning is lost through the simple words! The ICB® doesn’t water down the truth of God’s Word by simplifying it for kids. The best available Hebrew and Greek texts were used to assure a faithful translation of the original languages. The ICB is a dynamic equivalent (thought-for-thought) translation of the Bible.In addition, the bible includes a dictionary and concordance to assist readers with words or concepts they do not understand. Not only will they be reading God's word and growing as Christians, they will be learning and becoming better readers!The publisher says, "Every little girl is a princess in God’s eyes, and this glittery Bible packed with great features is truly fit for royalty!"I found the following description of ICB, provided by Faith Gateway, to be valuable information:4 reasons the ICB® translation is a game-changer for kids and God’s WordThe name itself tells my children this Bible is for THEM, written specifically with their journey of faith in mind.The ICB® has more than 300 Key Bible Verses highlighted in the text so that children (and their parents) can read and learn some of the most important and foundational truths of God’s Word.Comprehension of the ICB® requires a third-grade reading level making it the perfect full-text Bible for elementary age kids to read.Word for word, the ICB® is simple to understand and apply to our lives.I would like to thank: BookLook Bloggers and Tommy Nelson for the complimentary copy of ICB Golden Princess Sparkle Bible in return for my honest review.