Customer Reviews

The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud (The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz, Book One)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jenny L. Cote captures the imagination of the juvenile reader in "The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud." Fantasy and allegory reminiscent of C. S. Lewis help the young reader understand God's provision and preservation through this fresh interpretation of the Biblical story of Noah's Ark. Max a young Scott Terrier and Liz a petite black cat from France follow the call of the Maker to "Come to Me." During their journey across Europe to the Middle East they become leaders of a menagerie of worldwide animals, arriving on time to meet Noah and board his Ark before the rains came.

The story takes a unique twist after the landing of the ark. Cote comes through with an ominous plot to kill Noah, the discovery of a stowaway on the ark, and an encounter with Charlatan, the Evil One.

Cotes has created a winner in "The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud." I am sure we will hear more of the magical adventure tales of Max and Liz in the near future.

Even a non-religious person like myself can appreciate the beauty of this wonderful read.

Max, a Scottish terrier, and Liz, a beautiful black cat, are called from their individual homes to lead an ever-growing group of animals to Noah's recently-finished Ark. Along the way are many obstacles that, with a little help from the Maker and his trail-blazing fire cloud, the slew of furry creatures successfully cross. But once they board the ark and settle in, a controversy starts to brew. Are the reclusive wolves causing all the chaos that is slowly severing the friendly ties between the animals and the humans? If not them, who could be responsible for such a task? It's up to the brave and intelligent pairing of Max and Liz to find out before it's too late.

This book had me flipping through chapter after chapter, anxiously following the creatures from distant and nearby lands to the Ark. Each character, no matter how big a part, has their own personality that shines through, providing humorous relief or a jaw-dropping twist to the story. Cote flawlessly links the details of the trip with the recordings of the Bible. The closing of the adventure is beautiful and tear-inducing. An amazing literary work.

- T.C. Robson

"The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud," is a clever and imaginative tale based on the Biblical story of Noah's Ark. The animals come to Noah from all parts of the world, thousands of them. These beasts and fowl are called by the "Maker" to follow the "fire cloud", a cloud in the sky that glows with the brightness of fire. The animals reach the ark safely, after many trials along the way, but things don't go smoothly while they are all aboard. There is "dissension among the troups". How things are resolved is both amusing and thought-provoking.

We start the story with Max, a Scottish Terrier, (Maximillan Braveheart the Bruce) traveling by himself. He soon meets up with Al, a cat. Then, they are joined by a pair of gulls, another cat, etc. Much of the first part of the story deals with their adventures and exploits, but as the story continues, we are introduced to other characters from other parts of the world. Max, and a cat named Liz, becomes the leaders of all the animals. The reed, which is carried by Max, plays an integral part in the story.

Many of the animals have some type of quirk - A dog afraid of water; a giraffe afraid of heights; a horse that "runs in his sleep"; a rhino with "anger management" issues; etc. And, of course, each animal has its own personality.

The animals come from many countries and speak many languages. Although the book is written in English, the characters manage to interject phrases from their respective countries into the dialogue. The reader is thus treated to snippets of Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, and Russian, among others. This enhances the storyline and educates the reader, as well. There is also a section in the back of the book that lists the names of all the different types of animals mentioned in the book, their character names (if they were used as specific characters), their country of origin, and any foreign phrases (along with English translations) used throughout the book.

There is much good to be said about this story, but alas, there are a few faults that I feel should be mentioned. First, there are a couple of discrepancies in the story line. At one point in the story, Al (one of the characters) takes off the seed bag he is carrying and lays it on the ground. Seconds later, he is sent crashing down a mountainside during an avalanche. There is no mention of his ever picking the bag back up, but somehow, the seed bag shows up later in the story without any explanation as to how it got there. There are also a few minor typos sprinkled throughout the text. And, there are places where the writing would benefit from a bit of editing.

But, all in all, this is a very good story, as it is laced with lessons about obeying God and doing what's right. It's also a story about friendship and forgiveness and tolerance. And, this is the first in a series of books by this author, featuring Max and Liz. The next book is called The Dreamer, the Schemer, and the Robe (a story about the Bible character Joseph). 4 stars.

TEN Star winner. Max, a Scottish terrier is what hooked me, from the start. And I love the book because its very much along the lines of a C S Lewis genre, and Biblical which was another thing that hooked me. The characters are wonderful and the lessons learned and challenges faced, holds your interest from the get go. I also like the print or font used, since its easy to read, and the cover illustration is charming.

This book is the story of Noah's Ark from the perspective of the animals. Whether or not you believe the story of Noah's Ark really did take place, the story is thought provoking and interesting and when written as Jenny L. Cote has, also fun at times. (Well for those spared at least.)

You can also find out more about the book at the website, [...]. Throughout the site there are three different YouTube videos.

This book was written with ages 8-12 in mind but I don't know many 8 year olds who could read this on their own. I think younger than 9 would need to read it with a parent or by a parent. It's a biggie with 432 pages. It is most definitely a book for teens and adults too, especially if you love animals. We have no way for sure to know what animals would say if they could talk but I'm sure what Jenny wrote them as saying is as close as we could get. All the talking is believable.

Since the animals come from all over the world, one would imagine they would speak different languages. While it would be impossible to have each animal speak a different language completely (how would they talk amongst themselves?) the author made sure to include common saying and words from the different languages. You can see all of them listed by country in the back of the book. For example the African animals say Moffie to mean wimpy and Isit? to mean Really? The Australian animals may say G'day for Hello and Sheila for a woman while the Scottish animals say Bonnie to mean Pretty and Ta to mean To. I found myself reading with an accent in my head!

More than the first half of the book is the journey of the animals to the ark. At first thought, you may think 200 pages is way too much for just a journey to the ark but you would be wrong. Jenny could have written more if she wasn't worried about how the long might get. The second half is after everyone is on the ark which again is NOT boring. In fact Liz organizes all kinds of activities for the animals to do to keep busy.

The Ark, The Reed & The Fire Cloud is just the first in a series of books called The Amazing Tales of Max & Liz. The next novel which Jenny L. Cote is currently working on will be called The Dreamer, The Schemer and The Robe. You can read a synopsis of that book and the next two here, just click on books.

I really enjoyed this book and will be hanging on to my copy of it for sure!

I liked this book. It's the author's rendition of the Biblical story of Noah's Ark. The main character was a small dog named Max. He ultimately becomes one of the animals saved by hopping onto Noah's Ark for a stint. To find Noah's big boat Max was advised by a Reed to follow a Fire Cloud. And much of the story was about how Max and company were able to keep up with the Fire Cloud.

The book was both well written and entertaining. I found it to be a little "corny" since I'm not a young kid and I'm not a believer in "The Maker." It kind of had the feel of a "Touched by an Angel" television episode. But there is nothing wrong with that. Some people like to read fantasy and science fiction books. So this was a nice book in the same vein as far as I was concerned.

I probably would have liked the book better if the author had not tried to tweek the written word as much as she did so we got the feel of the different languages and dialects the characters spoke. The misspellings were annoying to me. I'm much more into reading a story than having to decipher a "new" language.

I suspect kids will very much enjoy having the book read to them. And some may even enjoy reading it to themselves. 4 stars!

PS. Take a look at the Search Inside feature provided by Amazon for this book. There you can see the detailed Table of Contents for this book.

This book was great. My favorite book I have ever read ever!!! I love the names of the main characters. This was a very fun story. Made me feel closer to God too!!!!!!

This is an excellent book for anyone who loves animals and the Bible. It is imaginative and funny, yet is a great learning experience about the habits of animals. The author's fictional account of what transpired on the ark certainly took me by surprise. I read it before I gave it to my grandaughter. She is in the process of reading it now, and I can't wait until she gets to that part. It is fun to be able to talk about it together.

I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. I am not in middle school and I have heard the story of the ark too many times to count. What I did know is that Jenny Cote is a person with a passion for history and a wonderful outlook on life. What I found was nothing short of amazing. How do you take a story told a million times to children and make it new? How do you hold a reader's interest through what could be a simple Bible school lesson? Ask Jenny...she got it done.

The story, as told through the eyes of Max and Liz, was so unique and thought provoking that I forgot I was reading. The playfulness of the characters and how they jump off the page is wonderful for a reader. I truly became invested in them as real animals in my life. I felt what they felt. One of the most amazing parts of the book (and I won't ruin it for new readers) has to do with the animals boarding the ark. Wow is all I can say. I never thought about it from Jenny's perspective. Very entertaining.

I now look forward to Jenny's books with eagerness. I am sold 100%. As with all books, you either love them or not. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to readers of all ages. For me, it goes on my FaceBook page as a favorite book for all time.

Wow, I LOVE this book!! The characters are so real to me, the illustartions are wonderful, and it teaches the bible in a fun,interesting way. I loved this book and am currently reading the second one. My thanks to jennny cote for this great book!! This is a great buy, you will not be dissapointed.