(RNS) — When Word on Fire, the Catholic media organization and publishing company founded by Bishop Robert Barron, approached author and theologian Emily Stimpson Chapman about writing a uniquely Catholic illustrated story Bible, she turned the project down.
At the time, two-and-a-half years ago, her children were 1, 2 and 4, and she was hesitant to take on anything, let alone “some sort of goofy youth Bible,” Stimpson Chapman told RNS from the attic of her Steubenville, Ohio, home — hiding, as she called it, from her three still-young children.
But after hearing the Word on Fire team’s vision to publish an accessible youth Bible, filled with quotes and meditations from Catholic spiritual fathers and saints, and seeing proposed artwork by the illustrator, Latvian artist Diana Renzina, Stimpson Chapman changed her mind.
“I was like, one, I cannot wait to have this Bible for my children, and two, I will be kicking myself for the rest of my life if I don’t say yes to being a part of this project,” Stimpson Chapman said.
Intended for children ages 7 to 11, “The Story of All Stories,” published Monday (Oct. 13), takes readers chronologically through 76 Bible stories, beginning with creation and ending with Revelation. Each story opens with a Bible quote and concludes with a reflection from a church father, ranging from St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas to Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. Renzina’s folk-inspired artwork animates the stories with warm tones and dynamic textures, illustrating traditional religious iconography in a way that feels contemporary.
In addition to the book’s release, the Catholic prayer app Hallow this month launched a challenge featuring its stories. And actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the Christian television series “The Chosen,” narrated the audiobook version of “The Story of All Stories.” It started releasing a new audio clip each day on Monday.
“The Story of All Stories” and author Emily Stimpson Chapman. (Courtesy images)
RNS spoke with Stimpson Chapman about the pressure of introducing Scripture to young Catholics, the project’s unexpected impact on her and her new sense of being a spiritual mother. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What was your process for approaching the Bible as a children’s book author?
It was a big task, and it was a huge hurdle for me to get over because they wanted me to have a lot of freedom. And I was like, but it’s the Bible — I felt very constrained by the text at first. But eventually, we worked out the list of stories together. So, I went through the Bible, proposed what I thought were sort of the 75 essential stories. My editor just had to keep cheering me on during the process. She would be saying, “Emily, make it funny. Make it dramatic. Tell a story. Imagine you’re coming to tell the stories to your kids. Let go of the literal words of the Bible and tell the story of that part of the Bible in your own words.”
How did writing the book change your relationship with Scripture?
It was such a joy to do. I have been writing about and studying Scripture for almost 25 years now, but to have to find a way to tell the stories in a way that opens them up to young children and help them to see it with new eyes, it helped me to see the beauty and the humor and the drama of salvation history in a deeper way.
I think the Bible is always new, and so every time we read it, every time we hear someone read it, there’s an opportunity for discovering new depths and new layers and for growing closer to Christ. So, you can’t write a story Bible and not have that happen to you.
Some biblical stories are visceral or even gruesome. How did you approach communicating those to children?
My husband’s a high school religion teacher and I write theology. We talk with our kids a lot about Jesus’ sacrifice and the hard parts of Scripture. But we always make sure those stories, even the hard ones, are drenched in God’s love. We want it to be clear how much Jesus loves us and how loving the Father’s plan is, and that’s something I (tried) to bring to the writing of this Bible. So even when we’re talking about the most sorrowful event in the history of the world, what happened on Calvary, I want to make sure the Father’s love for Jesus and Jesus’ love for us is paramount as I tell that story. That’s what I want my kids to take away when they read about Calvary — not just “how horrible that was,” but “Oh, how God loves us.” I think that’s the key.
An excerpt from “The Story of All Stories.” (Image courtesy of Word on Fire Votive)