Just the other day, I was reminiscing with a friend about our favorite childhood books, especially those that made very strong impressions upon us.  Among many of the books which I remembered with great fondness were The Little Prince, Bridge to Terabithia, Walk Two Moons, and a children’s Bible, whose title I cannot recall for the life of me, but whose stories and illustrations I can still recall with great alacrity.

Reading those illustrated stories at a young age prepared me to study Tanakh in even greater depth during my years in Jewish day school.  When my fifth grade Chumash (Bible) class began to study the story of Shimshon (Samson), I was already ahead of the curve.  I remembered the story of how Delilah tried again and again to find and destroy the source of Shimshon’s supernatural strength – finally succeeding when she cut his long hair.  Although I was reading the original text for the first time, I was already familiar with the story and could begin to think about larger questions: why didn’t Shimshon realize that Delilah was attempting to betray him?  How did Shimshon’s long hair grant him Herculean strength, anyway?  And why is Shimshon considered a Jewish hero, since he seemed more interested in avenging personal slights than in leading the Jewish people?

But I digress.  The point is that this simple children’s book had a profound impact on me – in many ways, it laid the foundations for how I approach the Bible and Biblical lore, even as an adult.  When I read the Book of Ruth over Shavuot this past weekend, the images I saw in my mind’s eye were of the delicate colored drawings of Ruth and Naomi traveling together along a sandy road, or of Ruth bent over a sheaf of wheat with Boaz, scythe in hand, looking on.

So it should come as no surprise to you that I’m incredibly eager to see the JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible when it gets published in July.  The illustrations look gorgeous, and the stories themselves will be simply told and true to the original text.  I’m certain that this book will have the same effect on today’s children as my children’s Bible had on me – it will, as Peninnah Schram puts it, “seed many children’s memories and nourish their senses of wonder, curiosity, and history.”  It will familiarize them with the Bible and with Jewish history, and will make Biblical stories as cherished to them as any story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

JPS is offering a 30% pre-publication special offer on the JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible.  Purchase by July 31, 2009 and get this beautiful $35 book for just $24.50.

-Naomi