After the Flood [Hardcover]

Arthur Geisert (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

This sequel to The Ark traces the establishment and development of communities on earth, and offers an original theory for events that followed the Great Flood. Geisert's beautiful full color etchings alternate between panoramic views and detailed glimpses of everything from the ark to Mount Ararat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a stroke of originality, Geisert ( The Ark ; Pigs from A to Z ) continues the oft-told story of the Great Flood by imagining life for Noah and his retinue as the waters begin to recede. The ark is transported to a valley site ("Trees were cut and a slide was built"), home is set up and planting begins. The years pass (depicted by increased vegetation and greenery in the illustrations), the human and animal populations grow and the world begins to take shape once again. The flood becomes a thing of the past, remembered only during bouts of heavy rain. Full-color etchings complement Geisert's unusual clarity of phrase. Their texture and subdued tones exude both calm and age, as if taken from the pages of an antique manuscript, and they have a certain stillness, even when their frames are filled with activity, which pulls the reader closer, inviting further study. Younger children will delight in the number of animals to be discovered and counted. An understated, quietly powerful book. All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-Geisert offers an unusual perspective on Noah's story by focusing on what might have happened after the flood waters subsided. People and animals cooperate to move the ark down from Mount Ararat to a fertile valley. There the huge ship is transformed into a farmstead, and humans and animals live in harmony. Plentiful harvests sustain the community for years, until the growing populations mean that humans and animals need to disperse to seek homes beyond the valley. Noah and his wife remain, comforted by the rainbow that follows each rain. Geisert's typically meticulous pen-and-ink drawings are overlaid with watercolor here. There is plenty to look at on every page and the animal antics provide humorous asides. Viewers will enjoy poring over the details and considering the logistics of establishing a new community. The only references to Noah's post-flood downfall as recorded in Genesis are visual, such as the grapevines framing several scenes. The book can be paired with many versions of Noah's story that describe what happened prior to landing on Ararat, particularly Geisert's The Ark (Houghton, 1983).
Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books; First Edition edition (March 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395666112
• ISBN-13: 978-0395666111
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,175,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Arthur Geisert's unique and exquisite etchings have been widely praised and exhibited at the Chicago Institute of Art, among other museums. His work is regularly selected for the Society of Illustrators', annual Original Art exhibition, and his illustrations are now being collected by the Dubuque Museum of Art. He lives in a converted bank in Bernard, Iowa.