I did not write or edit it. I did not publish it. I do not sell it.

But I’ve got to tell you, it’s good! Here’s why:

1 It uses language appropriate for under 5s. No need for me to translate stuff.

2 The author, Maggie Barfield, has thought through what under 5s can and need to know about God. It’s not just ‘God loves you’ but it’s not expecting unrealistic conceptual thinking. And it tells the story without adding lots of interpretation, leaving space for the readers to chat and make their own conclusions about what they’ve discovered about God.

3 It has wonderful kind of puppet style images of the ‘God moment’ of each story with lots of lovely contexual details included. Perfect for little people who absorb more easily from pictures than the words.

4 It has an unabridged audio version! Perfect for long car journeys (although I’d like to request more variety in start and finish music!).

5 It has board book versions of various stories including Easter and Christmas. Ideal presents for even the smallest of small people.

6 It has a Bible timeline to help children see how all the stories fit together using the same artwork. Great wall art.

7 It links into all the Bubbles material available for free on lightlive.org. Lots more activities to delve into when we are so inclined.

8 It records where in my Bible I can find the story I’m reading. (Quicker than Biblegateway.com)

9 It reads beautifully which is essential when I have to read it lots (and lots and lots) of times.

10 It covers the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation but in a suitable way for under 5s (no great big chunks of Isaiah or Deuteronomy, but more is covered than you might expect!). I love seeing which stories become favourites.

And most of all, I love it because currently my daughter is choosing it instead of Thomas the Tank Engine. Which we both know of by heart. At least when we know the BBSB by heart, we’ll have something of God stuck in our heads.