My favorite book for preschoolers? And parents of preschoolers? Hands down, it's ABC Bible Verses, by Susan Hunt. We love this book! Susan Hunt has found a verse for each letter of the alphabet. Some examples:
A soft answer turns away wrath.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
My favorite part about this book is how helpful it has been for me as a mommy to instruct my children using God's Word. I can't tell you how many times since we began going through this book I have been able to use one of these verses in correcting or reminding my children. Or, even better, I have overheard my children using the verses we've learned in their own interactions. My daughter will tell her little brother, "Remember our Bible verse? 'Children, obey your parents in all things...' You need to obey mommy. That makes God happy!"
Each verse is from the New King James Version or the King James Version of the Bible. For each verse, there is a story that accompanies it as well as a few questions and a suggestion for prayer. For the A-verse, the story is about little Missy and her friend Janet. Janet wants to do something and gets angry when Missy doesn't want to (Missy won't because, in her words, "I can't disobey my mom."). When Missy's friend responds with anger, Missy remembers Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, and chose to give a soft answer to Janet, and it stopped the argument.
We've been reading our ABC Bible Verses after dinner. Before we begin a new verse, we repeat all of the verses we've learned up until that point. Then daddy reads the verse and the story and we pray together at the end. This is a highlight for my children- they love this, and are always eager to learn the next verse, or practice all the verses we've learned so far! It's so easy for them to remember because of the connection to the alphabet. Even our two-year old, with very little prompting, can say each verse we've learned to date.
Right now we're on Keep your tongue from evil. (Psalm 34:14).
You can imagine how often we'll get to pray over that one, asking God to hide His Word in our hearts and help us obey!
~Stacy | 