CHILDREN: Culture-Appropriate Bibles for Children

I was speaking at a conference where some of the teachers asked me about finding resources that fit multicultural classes because they couldn't find anything from Lutheran publishers. Well, my friends, here is what I found for you. I couldn't see inside all of them to see if they were appropriately paraphrased, so if they're not, please use your best judgment about what story you read, but use the photos that help your students identify with them.

Getty Images

What would Jesus have looked like as a 1st century Palestinian Jew? Well, from what I've found, he was neither black nor white, and would not have visited a barber very often, but his hair would not have been very long (1 Corinthians 11:14) unless you took a vow where you promised not to cut your hair or drink wine. It is thought by some that 1st century Judeans would appear biologically similar to today's Iraqi Jews. He would have had black or dark brown hair, brown eyes, and olive-brown skin. He would have worn a knee-length tunic, as only the wealthy wore long tunics, and a wool mantle or cloak without color. Check out information from the well-researched book, What did Jesus really look like?

Culture-Appropriate Bibles
Nearly all of the book I found have very white people or white people with a tan in them.
The Jesus Storybook has wonderful pictures, but the text is advanced for young audiences. 

Culture - Appropriate Online Bible Pictures
Sometimes it's easier to look for individual pictures. There are also coloring pictures that are really easy to find if you do a google search. Those, of course, you can color the way you like.
Shutterstock has some great pictures, but it's not free. It might, however, be a good investment.
Free Bible Images has a lot of pictures, but you have to look for those that don't portray everyone as white. There are also maps which is great for kids in the Knowledge Stage (The Art of Teaching Sunday School).
The Glory Story has some pictures that seem to be close culturally and some are free and some you have to buy. Again, it might be worth the price.