Easter is a great time to evaluate and refresh your family devotional time.  If you’re looking for the perfect devotional or storybook Bible to read with your kids, I have some ideas for you!

We’ve had our share of duds—devotionals that were too superficial and lacked any spiritual depth.  Some of the ones listed below our our favorite finds that stand out as digging deeper and providing a solid biblical foundation for our kids.  Other items on the list are ones that are on my “I want to do this next list” because they look so good!

Don’t worry about starting a 365-day devotional in the spring.  Either begin at the beginning and just keep going to the end.  Or, start on the actual date and wrap around through the new year until you’ve finished.

Feel free to browse and find the book that might be the best for your family. Any of these could make a great Easter gift for children or grandchildren, as well.

• Our Daily Bread for Kids by Crystal Bowman and Teri McKinleyThis is my favorite elementary age devotional so far.  It covers so much more than the basic Sunday School stories.  Even my older children listen in and say, “I didn’t know that was in the Bible!”  Very attractive pictures.  Devotions are exactly the right length. My daughter loves the “Fun Facts” at the bottom of each entry.  I love the solid biblical content.
• 90 Devotions for Kids (Adventures in Odyssey) by AIO TeamWe love Adventures in Odyssey (AIO) and every one of the AIO devotions makes my top 5 list of favorite family devotionals.  These especially work well for families who are familiar with Adventures in Odyssey, but really any family could read them and be blessed.  Great lessons and content!  Perfect for about second or third grade on up through at least 5th grade and perhaps even into the tween years (depending on your child).
• 90 Devotions for Kids in Matthew (Adventures in Odyssey) by AIO Team
• Whit’s End Meal-Time Devotions (Adventures in Odyssey) by Crystal Bowman and Tricia Goyer
• Grace for the Moment: 365 Devotions for Kids by Max Lucado

Here’s one I want to do in the future!

• Experiencing God at Home by Richard and Tom Blackaby
• Kingdom Family Devotional by Tony Evans and Jonathan Evans
  I love the format of this one with a theme for each week to go over as a family.  The readings are short and occasionally have very simple-to-prep object lessons to accompany the devotional.  It’s also accessible for a fairly wide range of kids, which is great for  a large family like mine
• Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids by Sarah Young
  We haven’t done this one (it’s just not my preference to read devotionals written from God’s perspective as if He is the one speaking), but others have recommended it to us several times.  She also just released Jesus Today Devotions for Kids.

FOR TODDLERS AND EARLY PRESCHOOLERS

• My Good Night Bible by Susan LingoThese are the very first devotion books we used with my kids starting at late two-years-old and on through the early preschool years.  They are short and sweet and, unfortunately out of print.  But you can still buy used copies from sellers on Amazon!
• My Good Night Prayers by Susan Lingo

DEVOTIONAL FOR FAMILIES WITH OLDER CHILDREN (TWEENS AND TEENS):

• One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters by Nancy Guthrie

STORYBOOK BIBLES

• The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-JonesEvery story in The Jesus Storybook Bible points to Jesus, creating one overarching message of salvation.  I read this to my youngest daughter when she was finishing up preschool.  I think that’s really too soon to fully appreciate the message of the book and think it’d be a good fit for younger elementary years instead.
  
• My First Message by Eugene Peterson
• The Beginner’s Bible
  
  
• The Action Bible 

  The Action Bible was a huge hit with one of my daughters who loves graphic novels.  She devoured this during her reading time.  It has solid biblical content with artwork and a style she loved.  She first received the Action Bible when she was 8 and that seemed like a good age, but it would likely appeal to any of the upper elementary grades.

• The Story for Children, a Storybook Bible 

  The Story is at times a good storybook Bible, although my kids weren’t always happy with the details or stories that were left out. I think my own children were just getting too old and were ready to read the Bible itself instead of the abbreviated version.

EASTER DEVOTIONAL:

• Mission Accomplished: A Two-Week Family Easter Devotional 

  Designed to start on Palm Sunday, this devotional takes you through the Easter story and then follows Jesus’ time with His disciples following the resurrection.

As our children get older, we’re moving away from storybook Bibles and devotionals and spending most of our time reading Scripture itself  as a family.  If you’d like to being reading the Bible aloud with your kids, here is a plan that takes you through the book of Mark in 30 days: