Noah and the Ziz [Paperback]

Jacqueline Jules (Author), Katherine Janus Kahn (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–With only a week left before the flood's arrival, Noah asks God for help in gathering the animals that need to board the ark. God sends a gigantic bird with a yellow body and red wings. Despite Noah's constant admonitions to proceed carefully, the Ziz unceremoniously gathers pairs of animals and plops them down near the boat. When the smaller animals hide, the Ziz finally learns that completing a project slowly and carefully can yield better results than rushing around. Kahn's illustrations are competent but unexceptional, especially considering the many renditions of Noah and the animals that cram picture-book shelves. Die-hard Ziz fans who loved The Hardest Word (Kar-Ben, 2001) might enjoy this adventure too, but others can pass.– Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Review

"The story and brightly colored illustrations are just perfect...the Ziz is sure to be a favorite with little kids." -- Chicago Jewish Star --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580131212
• ISBN-13: 978-1580131216
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #861,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > World > Jewish > General

More About the Author

Jacqueline Jules is an author, teacher, librarian, and poet. Her books for children include Zapato Power, Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation, No English, Sarah Laughs, and Duck for Turkey Day. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Christian Science Monitor, America, Cicada, Highlights for Children, and Spider. She is a strong advocate for literacy and education. Please visit her at http://www.jacquelinejules.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice but not as good as The Hardest Word, April 8, 2011

By 

Will Riddle "and Jaime Riddle" (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Noah and the Ziz (Paperback)

After reading The Hardest Word, my family and I had to get the next book. We bought Noah and the Ziz because we enjoyed the first one so much. It was cute, but not as great as the first.

The basic lesson of Noah and the Ziz is that getting things done quickly (i.e. just diving in to "help") is not as good as doing things carefully and wisely. Ziz has to learn to listen to Noah because he scares away all the little animals at first. This is definitely a nice and needed lesson for many little kids!

Another reviewer mentioned the issue of it coming across like Noah needed Ziz's help to do his thing. I didn't pick up on that so much, but I was just a teeny bit concerned that my littlest children (3 and 4) would think that the Ziz actually existed and helped Noah do this! It is hard at that age to tell them that one part of the story is what really happened and one part is just made up. Even when you show them in the Bible that only one part of the story is there, it is easy for a little kid's mind to "fill in" the parts that aren't there... and so many peopel wonder how Noah got all those animals to come on the ark!

Regardless, Ziz is fun to read. I still enjoyed The Hardest Word more, but this one's pretty good too.