The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Young Beginners

The Great Adventure Bible for Young Beginners is the first-ever children’s edition of the Bible with text from all seventy-three books that is simplified, condensed, and adapted from the RSV-2CE. Perfect for children ages five and up, this edition features rich sacred art and the Bible Timeline’s® color-coded learning system to make the Bible engaging and accessible. This includes introductions to each of the twelve Bible timelines that help children understand the biblical narrative, and the seventy Key Events feature the main stories in salvation history from Genesis to Revelation. There is also a glossary explaining more difficult biblical terms using easy-to-understand, age-appropriate language.

This Bible was created to help young children understand and fall in love with God’s Word from the very beginning of their faith journey. It fills a need for a faithful, encompassing, and age-appropriate Catholic Bible that is engaging and accessible—whether at home, in the classroom, or as part of Ascension’s Pillars of Faith curriculum.

The translation used is the Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition.

This Bible is intended for children ages five and up, especially those in grades K–2.

This Bible is a carefully condensed adaptation of the Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition, focusing on the narrative thread of salvation history. It’s more than a simple storybook—it stays faithful to the structure, voice, and message of Scripture while simplifying it for early readers. Every book and chapter of the Bible is included. Each section begins with a chapter and verse spread that shows what part of the Bible is covered. The featured chapters and verses are at an age-appropriate level and include at least one direct quote from the Bible. The goal is to enhance biblical literacy for even the youngest readers.

This Bible covers the breadth of Scripture. Through the chapter and verse spreads, the content of each of the Bible's seventy-three books is covered. However, certain sections have been greatly abridged or omitted when the content is not age-appropriate or suitable for young readers. If you read this Bible from beginning to end, you can be confident that you have covered the breadth of Scripture at an age-appropriate level for K–2nd grade.

In producing this Bible, we wanted to avoid any confusion about what is abridged and summarized and what is directly quoted from the Bible. For this reason, biblical text is treated with bold font (with the exception of Psalms and Proverbs). Additionally, only text that is a direct quote from the Bible will be surrounded by quotation marks.

It is important for children to learn the language of our Faith and our liturgy. To keep the reading age-appropriate, each chapter of Psalms and Proverbs includes two parts: a brief summary and select verses of the actual text. These verses have been reproduced to help children become familiar with the language of our Faith and liturgy.

We worked closely with a reading level specialist to ensure the text was appropriate and understandable for children in grades K–2. However, young readers may benefit from having the text read to them. This also allows for opportunities for discussion and interaction with the Bible.

The story of Salvation is a messy one. We did not want to gloss over that reality. However, we recognize that the Bible contains some mature themes. For this reason, we have greatly abridged the graphic portions of the Bible, condensing them into brief sentences that are suitable for this age group.

Yes, this is an authentically Catholic Children’s Bible that includes all seventy-three books of the Bible. It has undergone extensive theological review to ensure all of the content is faithful to Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium. The Great Adventure™ content discusses how Scripture points to Jesus, the Church, and the Sacraments.

The Bible has been submitted for ecclesiastical review and imprimatur to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We expect a smooth review process.

Throughout the Bible, carefully chosen images of Sacred Art have been included to enhance the visual and prayerful experience of reading this Bible. It contains 175 titled classical works of art.

In the New Testament, we have maintained The Great Adventure™ style of having Jesus’ words in red. However, we only do this for direct quotations, so abridged sections that summarize Jesus’ words are not in red. This, again, is to maintain clarity between direct Scripture quotes and summarized and abridged content.

Yes, the Bible includes The Great Adventure™ system, featuring timeline charts, key events, maps, and special introductory sections.

The classroom edition is intended for parishes and schools to have in religious education classes. It features: a hardbound leatherlike cover, full-color interior, and all of the Great Adventure features, such as the color-coding system, key events, glossary, etc. This is intended to be able to be purchased in bulk.

The premium edition features: a hardbound leatherlike cover with sponge (a very thin material within the cover for protection and comfort), full color interior, ribbons, The Great Adventure features, such as maps, key events, glossary, etc., and is packaged in a keepsake box with a children’s Bible Timeline chart.

The Pillars of Faith curriculum pulls in one passage and one story from the Bible into every lesson. Teachers and catechists can utilize our specially crafted Bible to tell the story in an age-appropriate way. To help increase biblical literacy, we want children to see teachers, catechists, and parents open the Bible and to learn how to navigate through it. These stories are not reproduced in the leader guides. This is done intentionally so children see that the Bible is something special and
different than other books.

Yes. The Glossary includes a vocabulary list of terms used throughout the Bible that may be unfamiliar to young readers.

This Bible is 6” x 9” and is 582 pages.

Yes. There will be three levels associated with increasing reading level comprehension. The Young Beginners Bible (incorporated into grades K–2) is intended for children ages five and up. The Beginners Bible (incorporated into grades 3–5) is intended for adults who are new to Scripture and children eight and older. The Youth Bible (incorporated into grades 6–8) is intended for youth
eleven and up.

This Bible includes many of the same features as The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, such as maps, color-coding, timeline charts, and introductory articles, as well as matching verses, adapted for a younger audience. It is designed to be a consistent experience for parents and children reading together, and to guide children as they grow into the more advanced versions. It is based on the same
Great Adventure Bible Timeline™ Learning System and gives children the experience of holding a Bible designed to reflect the beauty of Scripture.