By Catholic News Service

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Three years ago, Pamela Fischer felt an inspiration from the Holy Spirit to get together a Bible storybook for little ones.,woke up one morning in Los Angeles with a new vocation.

Although she was a publishing neophyte, the 48-year-old wife and mother of three wasn’t daunted by the challenge of producing a battery-operated Bible for pre-readers and early readers. The recently released book, which was approved by the Los Angeles archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, is titled “This Bible Talks! A Child’s First ‘Press & Play’ Bible Storybook.”

“You don’t question the Holy Spirit when you feel it strongly. In discernment, I felt very comfortable and at ease and at peace that this was something I should do,” said Fischer, a longtime member of a women’s faith-sharing group at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Los Angeles.

A cradle Catholic whose parents shared Bible stories with her as a young child, Fischer said her early introduction to Scripture allowed her to have Christ as a central focus in her life. When she had her own children, now ages 20, 17 and 14, she made sure she read stories to them about Jesus when they were small.

With the generous financial backing of her husband, Joel, a carpenter/house builder and Catholic convert, Fischer was able to self-publish the $25.95 book, with two triple-A batteries included, through GM Books in Los Angeles. Nonreaders who peruse “This Bible Talks!” can hear a narration of the text by pressing the picture icons on the book’s raised plastic panel. Early readers can follow the text as they listen to the engaging voice of the male narrator.

The talking Bible includes 16 chapters with short, paragraph-length stories from both the Old and New Testaments, starting with “God’s Gift of Creation” and ending with “Jesus Sends Us the Holy Spirit.”

“This Bible Talks!” can be ordered online at: www.thisbibletalks.com.

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