Thumb Bibles

"The literary genre "Thumb bibles" belongs to the category of miniature books and is a subtype of children's bibles. Thumb bibles summarize the whole bible by paraphrasing selected biblical narratives. They intend to communicate biblical basics to children and youth. The majority of them has pictures to illustrate the biblical content. This publication contains the first academic study of the thumb bibles. It explores their beginning in Britain, investigates their development in Germany and presents their climax in America. From these studies arises a clear picture of the theological, literary, pedagogical and pious profile of this fascinating literary genre"--