Young Folks' Bible in Words of Easy Reading The Sweet Stories of God's Word in the Language of Childhood — Edition Insights

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In Category - Sacred Texts

Authors: Pollard, Josephine, 1834-1892, Milburn, William Henry, 1823-1903 [Author of introduction, etc.], Barrows, John Henry, 1847-1902 [Contributor], Swing, David, 1830-1894 [Contributor] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2012 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Christian life -- Juvenile literature; Bible stories, English -- Juvenile literature; Bible -- Paraphrases, English Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 83,638

Reading time 364 min

Text sections 11

For Young Folks' Bible in Words of Easy Reading The Sweet Stories of God's Word in the Language of Childhood — Edition Insights, the stored edition analysis reports 83,638 words, 6 hr 4 min estimated reading time, and 11 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 20.9 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Christian life -- Juvenile literature,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #39431

This 1890 children's Bible retelling by Josephine Pollard uses simplified language and syllabified names to make Old Testament stories accessible to young readers, while the preface and introduction by prominent clergymen frame the book as a tool for moral and religious instruction.

Editorial Edition Score 4.9/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg39431

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CHAPTER I. PAGE GOD MADE THE WORLD, 33

CHAPTER II. THE GREAT FLOOD; AND A GREAT TOW-ER, 43

CHAPTER III. A-BRA-HAM: THE MAN OF FAITH, 52

CHAPTER IV. JA-COB AND E-SAU, 64

CHAPTER V. JA-COB AND RA-CHEL, 71

CHAPTER VI. JO-SEPH AND HIS BRETH-REN, 76

CHAPTER VII. THROUGH THE RED SEA AND THE WIL-DER-NESS, 91

CHAPTER VIII. HOW JOSH-U-A AND JEPH-THAH FOUGHT FOR THE LORD, 112

CHAPTER IX. SAM-SON, THE STRONG MAN, 118

CHAPTER XII. SAM-U-EL, THE CHILD OF GOD, 139

CHAPTER XIII. SAM-U-EL, THE MAN OF GOD, 147

CHAPTER XIV. DA-VID AND SAUL, 157

CHAPTER XV. SOL-O-MON, THE WISE MAN, 177

CHAPTER XVI. E-LI-JAH, 183

CHAPTER XVII. E-LI-SHA, 192

CHAPTER XVIII. JO-NAH, THE MAN WHO TRIED TO HIDE FROM GOD, 200

CHAPTER XIX. DAN-I-EL, 204

CHAPTER XX. THE GOOD QUEEN ES-THER, 217

CHAPTER I. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, 235

CHAPTER II. THE STAR IN THE EAST, 244

CHAPTER III. THE BOY-HOOD OF JE-SUS, 251

CHAPTER IV. JE-SUS AND JOHN THE BAP-TIST, 256

CHAPTER V. THE WO-MAN AT THE WELL.--JE-SUS BY THE SEA, 267

CHAPTER VI. JE-SUS HEALS THE SICK, AND DOES GOOD WORK ON THE DAY OF REST, 276

CHAPTER VII. THE SER-MON ON THE MOUNT, 286

CHAPTER VIII. GOOD WORDS AND GOOD WORKS, 295

CHAPTER IX. JE-SUS AT THE SEA-SHORE, 303

CHAPTER X. JE-SUS BRINGS THE DEAD TO LIFE.--FEEDS FIVE THOU-SAND, 311

CHAPTER XI. JE-SUS HEALS THE SICK.--HIS FORM CHANGED ON THE MOUNT, 320

CHAPTER XII. THE GOOD SA-MAR-I-TAN.--MAR-THA AND MA-RY.--THE MAN BORN BLIND, 327

CHAPTER XIII. JE-SUS THE GOOD SHEP-HERD.--LAZ-A-RUS BROUGHT TO LIFE.--THE FEAST AND THOSE WHO WERE BID TO IT, 337

CHAPTER XIV. THE PROD-I-GAL SON.--THE PHAR-I-SEE AND THE PUB-LI-CAN.--BABES BROUGHT TO JE-SUS.--ZAC-CHE-US CLIMBS A TREE, 346

CHAPTER XV. THE FEAST OF THE PASS-O-VER.--THE SUP-PER AT BETH-A-NY, 353

CHAPTER XVI. PAR-A-BLES OF OUR LORD, 362

CHAPTER XVII. THE LORD'S SUP-PER.--JE-SUS IN GETH-SEM-A-NE.--THE JU-DAS KISS.--PE-TER DE-NIES JE-SUS, 375

CHAPTER XVIII. CHRIST BE-FORE PI-LATE.--CHRIST ON THE CROSS, 382

CHAPTER XIX. JE-SUS LEAVES THE GRAVE.--AP-PEARS TO MA-RY.--STE-PHEN STONED.--PAUL'S LIFE, SHIP-WRECK AND DEATH, 395

CHAPTER XX. WHAT JOHN SAW WHILE ON THE ISLE OF PAT-MOS.--THE GREAT WHITE THRONE.--THE LAND OF LIGHT, 412

History of the Old Testament.

FAR back in the past, more years than you could think or count, God made the world. It did not look at first as it does now, for there was no live thing on it, no men, beasts, or birds, not a bush, tree or plant, but all was dark and drear.

Then God said, Let there be light! And the light came. And God saw the light, and it pleased him, and he gave it the name of Day. And when the day was gone, and the dark came back to stay for a while, he gave the dark spell the name of Night. And God did these things on the first day.

The next day God made the clouds, and the sky in which they were to move; and he gave the sky a name; he called it Heav-en.

Then he drove the wa-ters to one place where they were both deep and wide, and he called the wa-ters Seas, and to the dry land he gave the name of Earth. And God made the grass to grow up out of the earth, and the trees and shrubs that have fruit on them. And the grass and the shrubs and the trees were to bear seeds, so that when these seeds were put in-to the ground more grass and trees and shrubs would grow there. God did these things on the third day.

And God put two great lights in the sky, the Sun to shine by day, and the Moon to shine by night; and he made the stars, and put each one in its place. And these things he did on the fourth day.

And he made the great whales, and all the fish that live in the sea, and the birds that swim on it, as well as those that fly through the air, and make their nests in the deep woods. And these things God did on the fifth day.

God made the beasts: those that are wild and live in the deep, dark woods, far from the homes of men; and those that are tame and of use to men, and live where men live--such as the horse, the cow, the ox and the sheep. And he made the things that creep on the ground, and flies and bugs that course through the air.

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Josephine Pollard's 1890 Young Folks' Bible in Words of Easy Reading opens with a preface that explicitly acknowledges the difficulty children face with biblical names and language, promising to tell the stories 'simply, and in Bible language, so that the little ones can read it themselves.' The book's subtitle—'The Sweet Stories of God's Word in the Language of Childhood'—signals its dual aim: to simplify without straying from the original text's phrasing. The excerpts show a consistent method: proper names are broken into syllables (e.g., Neb-u-chad-nez-zar, Sha-drach, Me-shach, A-bed-ne-go), and sentences are kept short. The introduction by Rev. William Henry Milburn, however, takes a different tone, opening with a lengthy anecdote about John Randolph of Roanoke that seems aimed more at adult readers than at children.

Syllabified Names and Simplified Syntax

The most visible editorial strategy in the excerpts is the syllabification of proper names. 'Neb-u-chad-nez-zar,' 'Sha-drach,' 'Me-shach,' and 'A-bed-ne-go' are broken into phonetic chunks, likely to aid early readers in pronunciation. This technique appears consistently throughout the Daniel chapter. Beyond names, Pollard simplifies syntax: sentences rarely exceed two clauses, and complex constructions are avoided. For example, the king's command is rendered as 'it was the king's law that all should bow down to the god of gold,' rather than a more elaborate legal phrasing. The vocabulary is also controlled—'wroth' appears, but most words are common. This approach aligns with the preface's stated aim to make the Bible 'easy reading' for children.

Moral Framing and Divine Intervention

The excerpts consistently emphasize God's direct intervention and moral lessons. In the Jonah reference, the text states that Jonah 'found out, what we all need to learn, that it is of no use to try to hide from God.' The Daniel story highlights that 'the Lord was with these four young men, and made them wise, and strong in mind, and fair of face.' When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow to the golden image, they declare that 'the God whom we serve will save us from death and bring us out of thy hands, O king.' The narrative then shows God's power: the three are unharmed, and the king acknowledges that 'your God is a God of gods.' These episodes are structured to reinforce a clear moral—obedience to God leads to protection—without theological complexity.

The Adult-Focused Paratexts

While the main text is clearly aimed at children, the book's front matter addresses adults. The preface by Pollard explains her pedagogical rationale. The introduction by Rev. William Henry Milburn, however, is a lengthy, sophisticated essay that begins with a detailed portrait of John Randolph of Roanoke—his 'eccentricities, audacity and brilliancy' and his early memorization of Scripture. This anecdote, which spans several paragraphs, seems intended to persuade parents and teachers of the Bible's value, not to engage a child reader. Similarly, the inclusion of contributions by Prof. David Swing and Rev. John H. Barrows suggests the book was marketed to adults as a serious educational tool, even as the core text uses simple language and syllabified names for young readers.

Readers approaching this edition should note the contrast between the child-friendly narrative and the adult-oriented paratexts. The syllabified names and simplified sentences make the biblical stories accessible, but the introduction and supplementary essays assume a mature audience. The book is best understood as a product of its time—a late-19th-century effort to combine religious instruction with emerging ideas about childhood education, wrapped in elaborate illustrations and endorsements from clergymen.

That old Bible book softened the hard edges of Joseph’s dreams until they felt like quiet whispers. I thought of that again yesterday, remembering how Jacob’s whole story unspools so gently there — not loud or preachy, just present. The Farmer Boy: The Story of Jacob — Themes and Context lingers the same way, like a warm lap on a long afternoon.