Kids4truth.com is a virtual playground for kids. The home page is filled with animation. The graphics are soft and reflect the look of artwork on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon.
One of the most impressive and entertaining parts of the site is the selection of animations, available in nine languages. Kids can get animated versions of biblical stories, including the creation and the 10 plagues. The movies use simple translations of Bible verses, which appear at the top of the screen as the animation takes place below. There’s also a pop-up screen that presents Bible verses for further study.
The images are pleasing to the eye, looking like stained glass or felt cut-outs. In both the creation and plague stories, kids can easily jump from segment to segment, seeing what they want right away. The length of the segments may lead kids to jump to other parts of the movie, which limits how much of the story they take away.
Kids can read about missionaries, listen to sound clips and watch film clips from other parts of the world, exposing them to other cultures. (Check out the clip of the big scary lizard!)
A word of warning: Despite the Web site’s snazzy appearance and features, kids may get bored with the site if their computers get bogged down with animation files.
Fortunately, there are some features that are a little more download-friendly.
For kids who like to color (is there a kid who doesn’t!), there are coloring pages to print. The drawings carry the same look, and they feature some of the same scenes as their animated counterparts.
The site also offers a bulletin board for kids and parents who are looking for activities to do together.
What Web site would be complete without a “Frequently Asked Questions” section? Kids4truth.com puts a new twist on this standard feature, giving kids a chance to post questions about the Bible and review answers from site administrators.
Click here to visit Kids4Truth!
Jared Porter is a journalism student at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.
