If you are looking for Christian picture books for children, you have probably noticed the same thing I did when my own family started looking. There is no shortage of children's Bibles. There is no shortage of cartoon retellings of Noah and the ark. But finding a picture book that shares faith warmly, that treats a child like a thoughtful person, and that does not feel like it is shouting at them is harder.
This is a guide to choosing well. Why faith-shaped picture books matter, what makes a good one, and a few we recommend.
Why Christian picture books matter (and why most of them miss)
Children encounter the big questions early. Who made the world. Where does the love come from. What happens when we are gone. They ask these questions in the bath. They ask them at bedtime. They ask them with their mouth full of cereal at 7am on a Tuesday.
A good Christian picture book does not answer those questions in tidy paragraphs. It puts the child inside a story where the answers are felt rather than told. Where a child sees, in pictures and small words, that there is a love bigger than the room they are in.
The books that miss are the ones that treat children like little theology students. The ones with a clear "lesson" stuck on the end. The ones that are afraid of mystery, or wonder, or any kind of feeling that is not joy. Children can smell those books from across the room.
What we look for in a great one
A few qualities to look for when you are choosing.
The story comes first
The best Christian picture books are first and foremost good stories. The faith is woven through them, not stapled on. If you removed the message, the book would still be worth reading.
A child is at the centre
It is one thing to read about Jesus feeding 5,000 people. It is another to read about the 7-year-old boy who handed over his lunch and watched what happened. Stories that put a child at the centre give your child somewhere to stand.
The art has reverence
Sounds odd, but it is true. Some illustration styles trivialise the story (everyone in primary colours with googly eyes). The Christian picture books we love most are illustrated with care. The light matters. The faces matter. There is room to look.
It is not afraid of wonder
The best children's writing about faith treats mystery as a feature, not a bug. It is okay for a story to leave a question open. Children sit with those questions in a way adults often forget how to.
Some books we love
1. Eli's Gift: The Boy with the Loaves and Fishes by Michele Cameron (ages 4 to 8)
A warm, golden-hour retelling of the loaves and fishes miracle told from the perspective of Eli, the 7-year-old boy who brought them. Part of the Seen by Jesus series, which tells the miracles of Jesus involving children, in the child's own eyes. Coming soon to Liabri Studios.
2. Found: Psalm 23 by Sally Lloyd-Jones (ages 3 to 7)
A short, simple, sweet retelling of the 23rd Psalm with animals as the cast. Beautiful as a bedtime read.
3. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (ages 4 to 9)
Not a single picture book, but worth the mention. Every story whispers his name. The gold standard of warm, narrative-driven children's Bibles.
4. God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren (ages 3 to 6)
A polar bear cub asks her mama where she came from. The answer is simple and tender. A favourite for very young children.
5. Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones (ages 6 and up)
A book of short, meaty devotional thoughts for children. Excellent for reading together in the morning or evening.
How to read Christian picture books with your child
A few small things that help.
- Read them more than once. A familiar story is doing quiet work the second, third, and fourteenth time. Let them ask for it again.
- Let questions be questions. If they ask you something tricky, you do not have to answer it perfectly. "I wonder that too" is a great answer.
- Connect it back to them. A small line, said warmly: "Just like Eli, you are seen. Just like Eli, you are loved."
- Pray short. A one-sentence prayer at the end of the story counts. They do not need a sermon.
Final thought
Children take their cues from the people who read with them. If you read a Christian picture book with warmth, with curiosity, with no agenda except enjoying it together, the book will do the rest.
If you would like more reading guides like this one, we send a new one each month from Liabri Studios. You can sign up at the bottom of the homepage.