Table Of ContentA First Bible
Story Book
Stories retold by
Mary Hoffman
Illustrated by
Julie Downing
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For Anna-Louise and William
Editors Marie Greenwood,
Anamita Guha, Kritika Gupta
US editor Rebecca Warren
Designers Rashika Kachroo,
Katie Knutton, Roohi Rais
Managing editor Laura Gilbert
Managing art editors Neha Ahuja Chowdhry,
Diane Peyton Jones
DTP designers Sachin Gupta, Shankar Prasad
Producer, pre-production Nikoleta Parasaki
Producer Srijana Gurung
ORIGINAL EDITION
Editor Lee Simmons
Designer Sheilagh Noble
Managing editor Jane Yorke
Managing art editor Chris Scollen
Producer Josie Alabaster
Religious consultants Rev. Terence Handley McMath,
Donald Kraus, Jenny Nemko
DTP designer Almudena Diaz
Additional design Linda Cole, Mark Haygarth
First American Edition, 2017
Published in the United States by DK Publishing
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2017 Dorling Kindersley Limited
DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC
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001–298701–Feb/2017
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of
the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4654-6334-0
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Contents
4–5
Introduction
The Old Testament The New Testament
8–15 52–57
God Makes the World The First Christmas
16–23 58–61
Noah’s Ark Three Wise Men
24–27 62–65
Abraham and His Family Jesus Is Lost and Found
28–35 66–69
Joseph and His Rainbow Coat Five Thousand Hungry People
36–39 70–73
Moses in the Bulrushes The Last Supper
40–43 74–77
Daniel in the Lions’ Den The First Easter
44–49 78–80
Jonah and the Big Fish Who’s Who in the Bible Stories
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A First Bible Story Book
Introduction to the Bible
The Bible is a collection of some Jonah, were reluctant heroes and had
of the best stories ever told. to be persuaded by strong means.
For hundreds of years they have These stories are also full of vivid
been familiar to many readers. pictures—the glorious garden of
The stories themselves are full of Creation, the pairs of animals being
fascinating characters and exciting marshaled into the ark, Joseph’s coat
incidents and I have tried to tell of many colors. Some images are
them in ways that young children disturbing in their
can find easy to understand. However, power, like Adam
the Bible is different from other story and Eve being
collections. Not all of these retellings banished from
are happy, some are sad or even Eden, the near-
frightening. Therefore you may want sacrifice of
to read each of the stories for yourself Isaac by his
before reading them aloud. In this father, and
way you will be ready for any the lions who
questions that might arise. ate Daniel’s
accusers. But
The Old Testament they are as
The Old Testament stories are full much a part
of heroes like Noah, Abraham, of the Bible as the more comforting
Moses, and Daniel, who had a special imagery of creation, repentance,
relationship with God. Some, like and salvation.
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Introduction to the Bible
The New Testament its fulfillment in the pain and hope of
The imagery of the New Testament is the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The
familiar to most of us from Christmas Easter story is not an easy one for
cards and carols and from the young children, but we owe them the
Christian symbol of the cross. But the truth about what happened to the
stories themselves are memorable too. man who preached love, peace, and
An ordinary Jewish couple suddenly forgiveness. The sorrow of Jesus’ death
find their lives turned upside down by on Good Friday is followed quickly by
an angel, who explains that their the joy of his rising from the dead on
child will be the son of God. the first Easter Sunday and this is at
As a baby, Jesus is visited the heart of Christian belief.
The Bible begins with Creation and
this Bible story collection ends with
the Resurrection, both powerful
images of fresh starts.
In writing A First Bible Story Book
I have tried to convey some of the
excitement and power of the well-
known stories within a framework
of hope and
reconciliation.
by important men with rich gifts and
a powerful king wants to kill him. As
a boy, he amazes people with his
wisdom and learning. And as a man,
Jesus is a great teacher and performs
astonishing miracles, like feeding five
thousand people with just five loaves
of bread and two fishes.
The New Testament moves from
the promise of the first Christmas to
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T h e O l d Te s t a m e n t
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T h e O l d Te s t a m e n t
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A First Bible Story Book
God Makes the World
In the very beginning, there was nothing but
emptiness, darkness, and lots of water.
Then God said the word and the world
was filled with light. He had made the
first ever Day . . .
. . . but He saw that darkness
was good too, so He kept it
and called it Night.
On the second day, God
divided up the water. He
kept some to be the sea. The
rest He put up in the sky and
made Heaven to keep them apart.
On the third day, God put the seas in
their proper places and dry land
appeared between them. He told
the earth to start growing trees,
and grass, and plants.
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