Book Review: The Biggest Story Advent by Kevin DeYoung & Don Clark
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Kevin DeYoung & Don Clark, The Biggest Story Advent: 25 Lift-the-Flap Devotions for Families. Crossway, 2025. 60 pp.
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Alleluia, our Savior has come! And so has a beautiful new resource for teaching our children about the season of Advent.
Written by Kevin DeYoung and illustrated by Don Clark, The Biggest Story Advent: 25 Lift-the-Flap Devotions for Families is a children’s board book that functions like an Advent calendar. Meant to be read daily from December 1st to 25th, the book has 25 devotions. Each of these has a biblical story and prayer, along with a numbered flap that lifts to reveal an illustration and Scripture passage.
One Part of a Much Bigger Story
The Biggest Story Advent joins Crossway’s Biggest Story suite of resources. Instantly recognizable by its bold typeface and colorful graphics, the suite includes illustrated Bibles, educational curriculum, animated videos, podcasts, board books, and more. These materials teach the bigger narrative of Scripture in a straightforward, accessible way that clearly connects the Old and New Testaments, while helping children find their place within God’s story.
In line with this goal, The Biggest Story Advent positions the Advent story in its larger Biblical context. Each reading’s title declares one aspect of Jesus Christ’s being, using the day’s lesson, Scripture passage, and illustration to demonstrate how Old Testament passages point to his coming.
Day 1, titled “The Snake Crusher Is on His Way,” begins with Genesis 3 and explains how the fall of man necessitated that Jesus Christ come into the world. “No sooner had that ancient serpent done his foul deed than God promised to send a Snake Crusher to step on his head.”
As the book progresses, it details how Jesus’s coming fulfills many Old Testament covenants and prophecies—from God’s promises to elevate the descendants of Abraham and King David to his assurances that a messiah will rescue the world as foretold by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets. Naturally, The Biggest Story Advent also touches on Jesus’s conception and birth, but these subjects remain rooted in their Old Testament contexts. The only New Testament passage comes on Day 25, with DeYoung citing Matthew 1:21 to proclaim Jesus’ coming and finally “reveal” His name to the reader.
Focusing on the larger Biblical narrative sets The Biggest Story Advent apart from more traditional Advent stories and will help children see Jesus’s coming in a new light. Yet because the book omits most of Jesus’s conception and birth stories, it should not be the only resource parents or caregivers use to teach children about the Advent season. It will, however, be a valuable supplemental resource for helping children connect different books of the Bible and deepen their understanding of the “bigger story.”
Festive Fun for All Ages
Though intended for readers ages six through 12, The Biggest Story Advent has something that everyone in the family can enjoy. Each reading is around 250 words long (less than one full page of text), making it brief enough to accommodate children’s short attention spans and adults’ busy schedules.
DeYoung also uses kid-friendly language and comparisons to tackle mature topics. For instance, when explaining why Jesus had to die for our “transgressions and iniquities,” DeYoung writes,
Think of our sin as so gross that it is like an in-ick-wity! Sin deserves to be punished (and, if you don’t think your sins should be punished, think of how you feel when your brother or sister or friend sins against you).
While not shying away from the truth, the language here includes a bit of humor and a real-life example to help children understand and connect with the lesson.
Children who are too young to read or intellectually engage with the material will still enjoy the physical aspect of The Biggest Story Advent. The front cover’s design and title have a pleasing texture with metallic accents, while the spine has a woven, cloth-like feel. My three-year-old son likes running his fingers over them to explore the different sensations.
But even more, my son loves flipping through the book’s pages to count the numbers for each reading, and lifting the flaps to reveal the colorful illustrations beneath. The pages and flaps are surprisingly thick and sturdy, so they lay flat for easy reading and have held up well to his enthusiastic, not-so-gentle handling (though the flaps were stuck down when we received the book, so he needed my help to pry them open on the first reading).
The illustrations feature the same vivid colorway and graphic design style as the entire Biggest Story Suite of Resources. They are also saturated with symbolism and abstract renderings of God, which tactfully avoid idolatry, but which can leave some images difficult to understand. My son would often lift a flap and ask, “What’s that?” or “Who’s that?” and sometimes it took my husband and me a few moments to figure out the answer. Or, rather, our best guess at the answer.
Advent in an Anglican Family
For my fellow Anglicans, the structure of The Biggest Story Advent echoes our liturgical services. Each day’s devotional has a Scripture passage (using ESV, the ACNA’s preferred Bible translation), a reading/lesson that explains the Scripture, a communal prayer, and a beautiful, though sometimes convoluted, illustration. By pointing out this structure to our children, we can reinforce their understanding our own traditions.
But as previously stated, The Biggest Story Advent focuses on the Advent story’s larger Biblical context and does not fully convey the story of Jesus’s conception and birth. Additionally, the book’s broad Christian perspective does not speak to Anglican-specific church traditions. The devotional reading schedule likewise does not align with the liturgical calendar, as Advent does not always fall perfectly between December 1 and 25 or have only 25 days. And with 25 devotionals to cover, the book is definitely better suited to a home or family context, where it can be read daily, rather than to a children’s church or nursery, where it would be read once or twice a week.
That being said, The Biggest Story Advent could be a strong supplemental resource for parents or caregivers who aim to teach children how the Advent story fits within God’s greater narrative. Firmly rooted in Scripture, the book has a thoughtful, kid-friendly structure and lovely design. It exudes, in other words, truth, beauty, and goodness.
The Biggest Story Advent will certainly make a heartfelt gift for the Christian children in your life, and reading it may well become a beloved family tradition, as I expect it will in my household.
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