Children's Bibles in America

Children's Bibles have been among the most popular and influential types of religious publications in the United States, providing many Americans with their first formative experiences of the Bible and its stories. In Children's Bibles in America, Russell W. Dalton explores the variety of ways in which children's Bibles have adapted, illustrated, and retold Bible stories for children throughout U.S. history. This reception history of the story of Noah as it appears in children's Bibles provides striking examples of the multivalence and malleability of biblical texts, and offers intriguing snapshots of American culture and American religion in their most basic forms. Dalton demonstrates the ways in which children’s Bibles reflect and reveal America’s diverse and changing beliefs about God, childhood, morality, and what must be passed on to the next generation.Dalton uses the popular story of Noah's ark as a case study, exploring how it has been adapted and appropriated to serve in a variety of social agendas. Throughout America's history, the image of God in children’s Bible adaptations of the story of Noah has ranged from that of a powerful, angry God who might destroy children at any time to that of a friendly God who will always keep children safe. At the same time, Noah has been lifted up as a model of virtues ranging from hard work and humble obedience to patience and positive thinking. Dalton explores these uses of the story of Noah and more as he engages the fields of biblical studies, the history of religion in America, religious education, childhood studies, and children's literature.

“"This is a careful, scholarly work that provides a balanced history of children's Bibles in America. It patiently and insightfully assembles the information needed to show how children have been taught about God, salvation, the virtues, and the nature of the Bible over the last two and a half centuries...It is a lively and exciting, thought-provoking, living document that demands an answer to the questions it raises." - Jerome W. Berryman, Director of the Center for the Theology of Childhood "The book has clearly been well researched and informed by many different texts from different perspectives throughout the two hundred years it canvasses.... [it] would appeal not only to people interested in children's literature, but also to those interested in history and religious studies." - Children's Literature”

The thematic organization of Children’s Bibles enables Dalton to bring coherence to the vast amount of material he has gathered, including more than 350 published print materials from the colonial period to the present. This alone constitutes the volume as a valuable resource for future research. Reviews in American History
It is a scholarly book well written and researched with a strong engagement with the relevant literature. At the same time it presents an engaging and informative narrative which draws the reader into the central thesis of the book. British Journal of Religious Education
Dalton superbly evokes the way in which supposed children’s Bibles raise tough adult exegetical questions. Though his masterful survey is aimed for a scholarly audience … its readability and vivid examples could also make it useful for advanced undergraduates. Theological Book Review
Russell W. Dalton has undertaken a very challenging task. He has opted to research the reception history, over the last 300 years, of the Biblical story of Noah's arc in American culture and country. Without a doubt, this has filled a gap in research. His research is a presentation of the most extensive study of US-American Children's Bibles. Such a research undertaking, in respect of both its time period coverage and the quantity of children's Bibles that have been engaged with, has no counterpart volume for any other comparable region. [...] This is an important contribution to research of children's bibles. The lesson that we can learn from it is that children's bibles are a literary category in their own right, and that we can speak of an independent children's bible-hermeneutic. Society of Biblical Literature (Bloomsbury translation)
Dalton introduces readers to a tremendous amount of resources for the study of Bible reception ... His argument is clear and coherent, rooted in both an historical perspective and a literary perspective. This is undoubtedly an important work in an underrepresented area of biblical reception studies. Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception
[Dalton] has written the most wide-ranging book on American children’s Bibles so far…Not only has D. catalogued and analyzed hundred of children’s Bibles throughout American history, but he also usually provides relevant context from American history that could have contributed to particular changes made in the retellings…[Children’s Bibles in America] provides a deeper look into the largely uncharted world of children’s Bible’s in America. Catholic Bible Quarterly
Breadth is astutely balanced by a narrow focus on the flood narratives, which are used to demonstrate writing strategies and theological perspectives incorporated into adaptations ... [Dalton's] extensive presentation of source material in every chapter bringing his subject alive. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Dalton’s book is highly recommended to anyone studying or researching religious education, the reception of the Bible in America, or the interplay of popular culture and American religion. Dalton’s prose is easy to read and well-organized, and he tackles too many fascinating but small trends – always placed in relevant historical context – to address here. Reviews in Religion and Theology
Children’s Bibles in America offers intriguing snapshots of America’s changing and diverse religious beliefs and values throughout its history by means of one of the best-known stories of Scripture (259). Experts in religious history alongside biblical/theological specialists are sure to appreciate Dalton’s work. Reading Religion
The book has clearly been well researched and informed by many different texts from differentperspectives throughout the two hundred years it canvasses.… [it] would appeal not only to people interested in children’s literature, but also to those interested in history and religious studies. Children's Literature
This is a careful, scholarly work that provides a balanced history of children’s Bibles in America. It patiently and insightfully assembles the information needed to show how children have been taught about God, salvation, the virtues, and the nature of the Bible over the last two and a half centuries…It is a lively and exciting, thought-provoking, living document that demands an answer to the questions it raises. -- Jerome W. Berryman Director of the Center for the Theology of Childhood

Russell W. Dalton is Professor of Religious Education at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

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