Adventure Bible Polar Exploration Bible (A Flyby Promotions Review)

A few months back, the kids and I were both saddened to find out that the Bible that they used regularly for our studies had unfortunately been accidentally damaged.  This particular Bible had belonged to my son and was well loved.  As Ashleigh had her own Bible that she used for AWANA, I knew that Garrett was going to want his replaced.  I had my eyes on the New Adventure Bible, a popular Bible designed to interest adventurous boys using a jungle explorer type theme with iguanas, parrots and treasure maps that point out important topics or offer quick devotionals throughout.  For one reason or another, we did not have the opportunity to replace our Bible and Garrett has been using my Bible temporarily.

However, things happen for a reason and I was blessed to be given the opportunity to review the NIV Adventure Bible Polar Exploration Edition.  The main components that I was drawn to the original New Adventure Bible can be found in this new edition but with an exciting polar theme.  Instead of the parrots and iguanas that were found in the original #1 best selling Bible, kids will instead find penguins and polar bears.


Without a doubt, this version hit it out of the park for my son.

With over 9 million copies sold of the original version of this Bible, one only has to look at what this particular Bible series offers for children and why it finds its way into so many homes.

• Full-color images of polar animals, arctic outposts and icy landscapes, will make learning even more exciting
• Life in Bible Times- include articles and illustrations describing what life was like during ancient days.
• Words to Treasure- highlights great verses to memorize.
• Did You Know?- interesting facts which help you understand God’s word and the life of faith.
• People in Bible Times- articles of amazing people of the Bible in an up close and personal way.
• Live It!- hands on activities helping to apply biblical truth to everyday life.
• Twenty polar-themed pages which focus on how to know you are a Christian, famous people of the Bible, highlights of the life of Jesus, and how to pray. 
• Book Introduction- including arctic art and important information about each book of the Bible.
• Dictionary/Concordance- define the meaning of confusing words.
• Color Map Section- helps to locate places mentioned in the Bible.
• Hardback glacial theme cover with metallic sheen

I'm really glad to have received this Polar Exploration version.  Garrett has shown more interest in the cute arctic animals more than he showed for the original version.  The text is large enough for him to read easily, along with larger fonts to draw attention to main themes for important sections of verse.  The NIV (New International Version)  translation is easier for him to understand than a traditional King James but yet not as simple as his previous version that was in NIrV. 

A simple table of contents is located almost immediately at the beginning of this Bible which is something I appreciate.  Garrett doesn't yet know the order of the books of the Bible and one complaint we had about our previous Bible was that the Table of Contents was buried about 20 pages in.   This version puts the TOC immediately behind the title page, making it easy to locate quickly.  

The Bible itself is 1460 pages printed on medium weighted paper.  The pages would probably not stand up to being marked with markers without bleeding through but should be able to handle a yellow highlighter for marking verses.  Following the completion of the book of Revelations, there is an appendix that includes a section of weights and measures (because lets be honest, who knows how much a talent or a cubit is), an index to look up general subjects such as a particular person, location, topic or emotion.  There is also an index to look up scripture for various activities to grow in faith. These indexes are fairly limited but do make for a great start for a younger student to use. There is also a Dictionary/Concordance included.  Finally, there are 8 full color maps to provide a visual tool for understanding locations, lands inhabited by the 12 Tribes, and Paul's journeys. 

Also included with this Bible is 20 full color glossy pages that focus on Christian living such as how

to pray or how to know you are a Christian, as well as a explanation of the ten commandments,  key moments in the life of Jesus or other famous people in the Bible.  I always like when Bibles include these types of extra inserts as it make for a reference that is super easy to locate when needed, especially when a child is trying to share the Gospel with a friend. 

Scattered throughout the pages are five bonus sections.  Some of these are called "Live It" and invite the reader to participate in an activity such as drawing a comic story about an event in their life or to narrate a Bible story as if they were actually there.  These activities are then used as examples of how God is in our lives, using scriptures for support.  Other sections called "Did You Know" offers a small piece of trivia that explains why or how something happened the way it did in the scriptures. "Life in Bible Times" focuses on an aspect of life in Biblical times, such as the food that they ate, clothes they word  or other aspects of their lives while the section "People in the Bible" brings focus to the stories of people found in the scriptures who normally do not get much attention such as King Agrippa.  Finally, "Words to Treasure" provide short verses for memorization. 

Another thing I really like that is a bit unusual for a children's bible is the introduction page for each of the individual books of the Old and New Testament. These pages give a brief synopsis of what is included in each book, from who the author of the book is, why is was written, around what period of time was it written, and some of the key events that occur within the book.  I really found these pages to be a great addition for a children's Bible and have only before seen similar pages in my personal study Bible.   

I am very happy with this Bible overall.  It's cute pictures really interest Garrett and provide a visual break for him to keep him from getting overwhelmed by column and column of text.  However, it's not so "kiddified" that he would need another Bible anytime soon.  He could easily continue to use this Bible without feeling it's too young for him for many years to come.  

The NIV Adventure Bible - Polar Exploration Edition is available for purchase at https://www.adventurebible.com/polaredition/  for $29.99 and would make a great Christmas gift for any child 8-12 years old.  A companion 365 Day Devotional that also follows the Arctic theme is also available for purchase.