I Wonder: Exploring God’s Grand Story: A Book Review

By Elizabeth Christie

When I call out to my family to grab a Bible, they always respond with a half sarcastic/half serious, “WHICH ONE?!” Suffice it to say, we have several shelves full of Bibles of various translations. This should be expected in the home of a librarian and a person who works in children’s and family ministries. One might wonder WHY I would add another, but it would take a team of wild horses to drag Glenys Nellist’s new illustrated Bible, I Wonder: Exploring God’s Grand Story, away from our collection.

Our home includes seven children that range in age from 18 to 1. Evening family Bible time needs to be accessible to all. I Wonder is enjoyed by each person. The language is understandable for each age, but not sing-songy (which usually causes the teens to tune out). The wonder questions at the end of each story are truly thought provoking for us all. As our eldest has been submitting college and making plans for her future, the questions have been grounding and great for conversation. The illustrations by Alessandra Fusi are soulful; the colors, shading, and lines are simply breathtaking. They are a wonderful pairing with the stories and wonder questions, adding new dimensions and complimenting the beautiful writing. Our child with serious vision issues can easily read the print on his own — the line spacing and font are perfect for him.

 There are many ways you could use this outside of a home setting. Perhaps you’d like to start a Bedtime Stories and Prayers ministry via Zoom. This Bible would be a fantastic cornerstone. Do you have a multi-age faith formation class? Everyone will benefit from the tellings in this Bible. Maybe you have a grandparent/grandfriend and me ministry. This could be a lovely gift to each pairing to use together. This would also be a meaningful gift for a baptism and new members. Consider a congregation-wide collection of wonderings based upon this Bible; create a bulletin board or word cloud! And imagine the possibilities of having the congregation create their own illustrations based on the stories. You could have your own in-house collection of visio divina images!

Do you need this Bible? If you want beautiful language, soulful and representative illustrations, and wondering questions that are springboards for thoughtful conversation across ages, YES. Yes, you need it.

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.