Bus Tour Launches New Bible for Young Catholics
by Lori Smith, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 4/5/2006
Winona, Minnesota-based St. Mary's Press kicked off a three-week bus tour last week for their new Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics. The Bible, which is aimed at 10-13 year olds and includes full color anime-inspired artwork, has sold 7,000 copies since its March 1 release, according to v-p for publishing Bev DeGeorge.
"We published The Catholic Youth Bible in 1999, and the writing in that Bible is primarily for 16-17 year olds," DeGeorge told RBL. "So our audience, liking that Bible so much, has asked us for a Bible for younger teens." DeGeorge said the goal for Breakthrough! was to bring biblical characters to life. "One of the ways we put that in practical terms is to say that these were real people living at another time. What happened to David with Goliath is a story that has a message for my life today."
The Catholic Youth Bible has sold more than a million copies since its 1999 release. DeGeorge believes the Breakthrough Bible will meet or exceed those sales numbers, based on what they've seen in the first month.
The bus tour was the brainchild of marketing manager Heather Sutton, and fulfills the publisher's mission "of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in innovative ways," DeGeorge said. The tour will stop in ten cities, visiting ten Catholic schools that include 5th and 6th grade students and are already customers of St. Mary's.
"We are recreating sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touches from biblical times," DeGeorge said. A dozen St. Mary's staffers dressed as biblical characters—including Moses, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, and Paul—will guide students through various activity centers. At the Bethlehem Café, students can sample dates, figs, and unleavened bread. The Jerusalem Employment Agency explores occupations of the time, and Holy Land Radio gives students the opportunity to make music with replicas of percussion instruments.
St. Mary's concurrently released a Teaching Activity Manual geared to both teachers and parish directors of religious education, and a "fun and instructional" Student Activity Workbook that DeGeorge said can be used with Breakthrough! or with any other Catholic edition of the Good News Translation. The Bible itself includes articles and "interviews" with biblical characters.
More information on the tour—plus a Bible giveaway—is available on St. Mary's Web site at www.smp.org.
