Customer Reviews

Noahs Ark

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Noah's Ark," retold and illustrated by Lucy Cousins, is an admirable addition to the collection of children's books that revisit stories from the Jewish Bible. Cousins retells the story in straightforward, simple language.

What really makes this book stand out is the superb artwork. Cousins' pictures have a charmingly crude feel to them; they crackle with energy and color. The story of Noah, who takes two of every species of animal onto an oceangoing vessel in order to survive a flood, has always been an illustrator's dream, and Cousins revels in the scenario. We see alligators, ladybugs, penguins, mice, elephants, puffins, snakes, ostriches, and many, many more species.

Some may argue that the story itself is not necessarily fit for the youngest children; the notion of a divine being wiping out nearly all of humanity in an intentional global holocaust is, when you think about it, pretty terrifying! But with some guidance from a caring parent or guardian, this version of "Noah's Ark" could be fun for small children. Thanks to Lucy Cousins for a great job.

While my son (2.5) loves the pictures in this book, the theology drives me crazy. I can handle the "wicked people" mentioned by others although I wonder what my little guy thinks. The thing that drives me nuts is the fact that the redemptive rainbow at the end of the story, which means God will not do this again, is missing! A good book for learning about animals, but not for learning about God.

I highly recommend books by Lucy Cousins - especially this one. The illustrations are bright and vivid and catch a baby/toddler's eye. My son Zachary's room is in the Noah's Ark theme, so I collect all things Noah, but this book has always been a favorite.

How could anyone deny the charms of Lucy Cousins' adaptation of this bible tale? The writing is poetically compressed and the illustrations are riots of folk-art color and movement. My three children have all loved it from a very early age and it is an absolute pleasure to read it to them.

We have had this book since my son was 6 months old and he really likes all the pictures of the animals-- and I think it is helping him learn to count (even if it is only 1,2). We would recommend this book to anyone who wants their child to know about Noah's Ark.

First, if you are neither Jewish nor Christian you may not care for this book. It is a retelling of the story of Noah from the Book of Genesis, told in such a way as to appeal to children.

Having said that, this might well be Ms. Cousins' best work. Her art style is simple but colorful, and if you doubt she truly has an art style consider this: her art is always instantly recognizable. Both myself and my children can spot a Cousins' book from a mile away.

To her credit, Cousins doesn't dwell on some of the more somber aspects of the story, i.e., that all but a few members of mankind are to wiped out by the flood. Rather she focuses on the positive aspects of the story-that God choose to allow some small remnant of mankind and the animal kingdom to continue, with a renewed hope that perhaps man would get it right the second time around.

The art is colorful and my children spend quite a bit of time trying to identify the various animals. We've identified all of them except for a few insects, so if you happen to figure out all of the bugs, let us know.

This book is a great introduction to the Bible for small children. If only everyone trying to introduce children to the Bible could do so as wonderfully as Ms. Cousins.

This book is my 4 month old daughter's favorite!!!. . . and she has read a lot of books, including "developmental" books. She loves the colors. I agree with another reviewer that the text about "wicked people" sounds extreme but she is too young to understand and it is biblically correct.

We have read this book to our six month old son since the day he was born. It is so colorful he is always entranced. I was amazed at how many animals Cousins was able to fit into so few pages. As he gets older it will be fun to teach him to recognize and name the animals and to recognize clever details that Cousins has included (the lizards changing from green to brown as they sit on the roof of the ark). The story is a bit simple, but the color and detail make the book well worth it. Our son loves chewing on this one more than any of his other books (it's a board book so it's indestructible).

This book does a pretty good job of summarizing the story of Noah for the little ones. I am not particularly impressed with the illustrations, but they are not terrible.

My sister got this for my 1 yr old daughter - she loves to read it and look at the animals. She has even picked up the signs for them and the noises they make! Love it!