Hi Karen,

It sounds like you have a lot of the same criteria for a child's Bible that we do.  I also use the NASB and this is the one that I generally read aloud to the children.

I've heard wonderful things about the ESV.  Jamie Soles (a friend of ours who sets a lot of the Psalms to music, he writes the music) says, that the ESV flows well and is easy to set to music.  When I questioned my father about it's accuracy (my dad is a pastor and reads both Hebrew and Greek), he said that he has been very pleased with the ESV.  Anyway, we don't have an ESV yet, but we've memorized a lot of Psalms in ESV (thanks to Jamie Soles cds) and we hope to get one soon.

In our home, as soon as a child begins to read fluently (usually between the age of 4 and 6) we purchase them their own Bible and they begin to read to me from their Bible in addition to their beginning readers.  At first it's very slow perhaps not even a full verse a day, but they have all improved quickly.

So far, we've gotten everyone a NKJV and have been happy with that.

We got the NKJV for my oldest two kids and the ESV for my third when they were able to read somewhat. In both cases, we got the same version our pastor uses to preach from (we changed churches in between so the version changed for my third child). I think this does help lttle kids to follow along. Most real translations out there (not paraphrases) are pretty accurate and most modern ones (NKJV, NIV, ESV) are at least similar in the ease of readability for kids. One factor for us was how the bible itself was laid out. I think too many notes and extra articles are a distraction for kids. Our kids also find it easier to find their place in a version that begins each verse on a new line. Another thing we considered was wearability (is that a word?), For all three we ended up getting bibles that were not paper back (too easy to rip) or hardback(too expensive) but had rubbery covers that can't be ripped and can endure a brief spill on the cover at least.

I did a post on my blog about Bible Reading Levels that you may find helpful.  There is a comparison chart available for you to look at as well.  I also like the NASB for my own use because of it's accuracy, however it is written at a college reading level.  Most of the traditional translations are going to be difficult for a preschooler to really understand. 

My personal concern about giving a Bible like this to a young reader is the child may get easily frustrated and grow to dislike reading the Bible.  That's what happened to me as a youngster because I grew up with a KJV translation.  Just giving you some food for thought.

All that said, I will say up front that I work for a woman who has authored a few children's Bibles.  And while we do sell these children's Bibles, please don't see this as a commercial for our Bibles.  First and foremost I want to foster the love of God and reading the Bible in children.  So, that should be your guide when choosing a Bible for your child.