Following the trend of increasing Bible sales in the Hispanic world, Editorial Portavoz, Kregel’s Spanish publishing arm, is releasing two children’s editions.
La Biblia gráfica (The Lion Graphic Bible, 978-0-825-41207-3, $12.99), written by Mike Maddox and illustrated by Jeff Anderson, released Jan. 31. Originally published by Lion UK in 2004, the brightly illustrated Bible is available in English from Kregel Publications.

Mi primera Biblia para bebés (978-0-825-41926-3, $9.99), authored by Sally Ann Wright and illustrated by Honor Ayres, will arrive in April. It is a translation of Baby’s First Bible, launched in English by AD Publishing in 2007.

To order, call 877-733-2607, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.portavoz.com.

Program’s miniature characters experience a backyard adventure

Building on seven years of producing bilingual five-day Vacation Bible School (VBS) programs, Editorial Concordia releases its 2009 curriculum this month, Un viaje en miniatura: Descubriendo la grandeza de Dios (A Tiny Adventure: Discovering the Greatness of God).

The program is available in Spanish and bilingual versions for four age groups: level 1 (3-5), level 2 (6-8), level 3 (9-11) and level 4 (12-14). Student packs of five lessons for each level retail for $14.99 (Spanish) or $16.99 (bilingual). The teacher’s guide (including adult Bible studies), covering all age groups, is priced at $53.99 in Spanish (978-0-758-61703-3) and $59.99 in the bilingual edition (-8-8).

Dove Award-winner Margaret Becker hasn’t released a new album in nearly a decade, but that all changes this month with Air (0-80856-00242-7, Modern Records/Go Global Entertainment). The independent album has been available for several months on iTunes and at some retail chains, but releases Feb. 10 to independent stores.

Becker has found plenty of things to occupy her time these last 10 years, including speaking and writing—she published a book in 2006, Coming Up for Air (NavPress), that loosely ties into the album—and she seems to be OK with not having music first and foremost in her life anymore.

Aussie rockers arrive with a little help from their Third Day friends

Australian rockers Revive met Third Day in 2007 and the quartet from Sydney hasn’t been the same since. Revive and a few other bands opened shows for Third Day during the group’s Australian tour, but Revive was the only one “cheeky” enough to ask Third Day to watch its set and provide feedback, said Dave Hanbury, Revive’s frontman.

“Third Day said, ‘If you ever come to America, please let us know.’ Maybe they didn’t watch the other opening acts,” Hanbury told Christian Retailing.

Doll and action figure company one2believe strengthened its position in the toy industry with the release of two playsets in January.

The company launched its first playsets in 2007 with a 17-piece nativity and three-piece PVC figurine Bible story sets. The “Tales of Glory” line expands to include a Noah’s ark set and a Galilee boat set, each constructed of PVC and designed for children ages 3 and up.

“We have two boat sets because not only are they important stories from the Bible, but kids love to play with boats,” said one2believe President Josh Livingston. “We are always looking to create toys that have as much added play value as possible, and we know that these two ‘Tales of Glory’ sets accomplish that while also introducing great Bible stories to young children.”

The Noah’s ark play set includes a figure of Noah, 14 animals and the ark. The ark floats, making it suitable for bath time or the pool. Suggested retail is $29.99.

The Galilee boat set is taken from the story in Luke 5 when Jesus told Peter to row out to deep water and throw out the nets to catch fish, even though Peter had not been able to catch a single fish all day. The set includes 14 figures and a boat. Suggested retail is $24.99.

For more information, call 888-557-2327 or visit www.one2believe.com.

Creation By Design has come up with a Bible-based trading card series that hops on the popular trading and collecting bandwagon, slipping in a biblical and random facts education along the way.

The company hopes its original 3-D computer-generated artwork will grab the attention of kids, and rekindle their interest in the adventures of the Bible.

“I wanted my kids, ages 7 and 5, to be able to learn about their religion without them feeling like they were in Sunday school,” said Steven Kaye, creator of the trading card line. “These cards had to be made in a way that the kids want to look at them, want to read them, want to collect them.”