Revealed: A Storybook bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard

Revealed: A Storybook bible for Grown-Ups Reviews

• 
  Margie

  Murder, sex and mayhem - the stories of the Bible often skipped or glossed over because they make us uncomfortable. We don't know how to reconcile these accounts with the God of Love. Each story includes the text from the Bible and a piece of printmaking art - woodcuts, etchings, linotypes and an explanation often from the artist. I placed this on the Art bookshelf because of these prints. The prints themselves enhanced the depth and emotion of the stories literally helping you to pause and reflect on the meaning and reality of each story.
• 
  Erin Richards

  Enjoyed the artwork and the small notes on each bible story.
• 
  Bailey

  I loved the concept of this book. The execution was ok and enjoyable but I think there are some key things that could have been improved upon.
  
  This book chooses key passages and stories throughout the Bible, extracting first the passage and then adding a small bit of commentary along with a work of art representing the passage. This is a great concept and one I was excited to explore.
  
  While being exposed to different forms of art and style is great, this art style chosen in this book generally did not appeal to me. For one, this book is in black and white, no color and I think this likely influenced the choice in art. I would say most of the art in the book is Linocut, which I had to google because I'm no art expert. Essentially, it is a form of printing where you make a carving, typically out of wood or clay, and then use that like a stamp to apply ink to a page creating an image. Something that doubtless takes a great deal of talent, but to me personally is not a style I relate to.
  
  I am definitely your below average art critic, only familiar with the most famous artists names. That being said, there was only one picture in the whole book from an artist I knew of, a Rembrandt. I was surprised by this given I know most famous Renaissance artists covered religious material.
  
  To be fair, though, it is good to learn about other artists. And with that in mind, my recommendation would be that you start reading at the very back of the book first. At the very end, there is an Appendix section with a brief bio about each artist that you will see throughout the book. With this introduction to the artists, and the extra context about what they are known for, I think that the images in the book will be much more interesting and relatable. As opposed to how I read it, without that knowledge up front, so each artists name was just a stranger next to some strange art.
  
  For instance, a couple interesting artists from the Appendix whom I wish I had read about prior to going through this book:
  
  Ned Bustard - By far he has the most art in the book and I can relate to him now because his bio says he has worked on Doctor Who books
  
  Rick Beerhorst - Is an artist who also has an Etsy shop, something I can relate to as an etsy shop owner myself
  
  Diego Jourdan Pereira - known for work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Toy Story, and the Smurfs.
  
• 
  Kelly

  I enjoyed this Storybook Bible immensely. I chose to read one entry and (enjoy each accompanying woodcut) a day. It was a wonderful way to traverse the overarching story of God and his interactions with his people and creation and ultimately his plan to redeem and restore us to himself. Though the emphasis is on some of the more harrowing events in the Bible, I found the reading experience encouraging.