The Bible Society has launched a new app for mobile devices to help parents share the Bible with their kids. 

Called The Big Little Bible, the app features New Zealand-made illustrations using a unique ‘one-line’ art technique called contour drawing, where the artist’s pencil never leaves the page.

Aimed at 8-10 year olds, the app includes 30 Bible stories taken straight from the Contemporary English Version and seeks to bridge the gap from paraphrased Bible stories to independent real text Bible reading.

For illustrator and mum Meesh Holswich, the project was a dream come true: “God gave me the heart to draw and I’ve been drawing non-stop since I was a child.”

Meesh likes to think that her style of art syncs with the overall message of the Bible: “One line, one thread, from the beginning of the Bible until the end – it’s all one story,” she says. “Each illustration is made with one continuous line, which then joins with the next illustration, and the next, representing the one story than runs through the Bible from beginning to end.”

The 100 illustrations took more than six months to complete and were made especially for the app. 

Meesh's passion for illustrating goes back to her childhood love for the Bible. “The Bible is a precious gift that gives us insight into the great story of God's love revealed throughout time. Reading Bible stories shows us how other people, just like us, live out their lives in faith, sometimes in failure, and the wondrous things that happen when we follow God.

“Drawing Bible stories brought me back to when, as a child, I used to wonder at the beautiful illustrations in Bible story books. Remembering those days helped me think of how I wanted to illustrate each story,” she said.

Bible Society New Zealand’s Biblical literacy research found that many children would read, listen to or watch Bible stories more often if they were on computer or mobile app. This will be their third mobile app and is free to download. You can download The Big Little Bible app at the Apple and Google Play stores now.