Note about Illustrations

The illustrations in TGS are realistic, based on historical fact. This is in response to the desire of many parents, including Jessie Wise, to have illustrations which do not portray the Biblical characters as cartoons.

Jessie Wise says, “Portraying Biblical characters in the form of cartoons presents to a child that these are imaginary figures, and not real people. I have been teaching children’s church in my local fellowship for over twenty years. In that time, I have reviewed dozens of Bible curricula, looking for one that does not use cartoon images. Those that use unrealistic cartoon images trivialize the Biblical stories by portraying the characters as if they were in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.”

This coloring page for Year 1 Lesson 25 shows Jesus calling Simon & Andrew to be his disciples. We tried to make the men look like Galilean Jews, not like cartoon characters. The fish are Barbus longiceps, which are still caught in the Sea of Galilee in modern times.