New Novelties

For young readers who like their Bible stories with plenty of visual interactivity comes Bible Stories Movie Theater Storybook and Movie Projector featuring full-color illustrations and retellings of five classic Bible stories. The removable plastic projector has a built-in reading light that allows kids to flash 80 images (packaged on the accompanying 10 mini picture disks) on the wall. (Reader's Digest, $24.99 48p ages 4-8 ISBN 9-7944-0545-2; Feb.)

A new Bible Spin-Me-Around Book, Noah and the Ark, retold by Allia Zobel-Nolan, illus. by Nan Brooks, is a perkily illustrated board book that contains three die-cut "spinners," panels that have artwork on both sides and can be spun around to slightly change the action on the page. (Reader's Digest, $7.99 12p ages 3-5 ISBN 0-7944-0525-8; Feb.)

All God's Creatures by Karen Hill, illus. by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, lets kids touch-and-feel "snuggly bunnies," "shaggy puppies" and other animals, big and small on sturdy pages containing patches of "fur." (Little Simon Inspirations, $9.99 14p ages 1-4 ISBN 0-689-87819-2; Feb.)

Intricate paper construction and engineering brings kids on deck with Noah and the animals in The Ark, a boldly colored pop-up by Matthew Reinhart, which features a solid retelling of the Bible story. The artwork, which looks like textured collage amid all the amazing moving parts, will provide hours of exploration. (Little Simon, $16.95 12p all ages ISBN 0-689-85909-0; Feb.)

Slightly older readers can find a collection of Bible stories in a digest-size paperback that comes packaged with a gold-tone cross necklace in Stories from the Bible Book and Charm by Elsie Egermeier, which is new to the Gifts of Grace line. (HarperCollins, $6.99 272p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-06-076134-2; Feb.)