Customer Reviews

The Story of Jonah (An Alice in Bibleland Storybook)

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

 

 

My 18-month-old daughter can't get enough of this book; she carries it around the house, begging, "moh moh... jo jo", which is her way of asking for "more Jonah". Her interest wanes after the fish regurgitates our hero, and usually we then start over from the beginning. A single read is never enough, alas. I give this advice to all those in a similar predicament: partial relief from the tedium is had by singing the book's rhymes to the tune of "The ballad of Gilligan's Island." Try it, it works. Coincidence? I doubt it.

I generally have stayed away from books other than the Bible to explain its stories, but boy has my mind changed. Alice Joyce Davidson does a fantastic job with her depiction of the Story of Jonah. My daughter only 21 months now, decided this was her favorite book about 6 months ago. She always asks for Jonah at reading time. The book has a rythmn to it that she loves and many parts rhyme. She's even saying several of the words herself on cue. We received the book free in the mail and I'm now on-line here today to order up the rest of the ALICE in BIBLELAND Storybook Series. You won't regret this buy!

This is a wonderful retelling of one of the most profound gems of the Bible. Most tellings focus almost exclusively on the Whale portion of the story. But the real focus - the boundless love of God - is properly told here. The cadence of the poetry is attractive to young children. It is now one of the favorite books of our seventeen year old toddler!

ISBN 0837850681 - Printed in the United States of America. I love childrens' books and, despite my happy heathen status, I really enjoy religious books of any sort. This book is both of those, but the fact that it's such a blatant rip-off, showing such a lack of original imagination on the part of the author is something I can't get past.

Alice reads her Bible storybook every day. As she begins to read Jonah's story, her book becomes a giant screen through which she enters Bibleland. There, she witnesses Jonah's story first hand, as Jonah is told by God to go to "Ninevah" (that mis-spelling of Nineveh is not mine, it's in the book, repeatedly) to warn the sinners there to repent or face destruction. Jonah, however, doesn't care about a bunch of people that he doesn't know and decides to defy God and hide from him. He hides on a ship but God knows where he is and creates a storm that could destroy the ship. When the crew asks Jonah for advice, he admits what he's done and tells them that the only way to save themselves is to throw him overboard. Though they refuse at first, they eventually do as he suggested and Jonah is swallowed by a giant fish. After several days, the fish spits him out on shore and God once again orders Jonah to "Ninevah". This time, Jonah knows better than to disobey. He follows God's direction, but not happily. God eventually makes Jonah see why he should care about the people of "Ninevah" and Alice sums up the things she's learned in Bibleland.

The text, rhyming throughout, is fine. The rhyme flows well and makes sense and the words used are simple enough for young readers. Victoria Marshall's illustrations are pleasant. The transitions from Alice's brightly lit, vaguely pastel garden to Jonah's dim and dingy home, from the darkness of the fish's belly to the open airiness of the shore, work well with the story.

But I do have some complaints. First, I'm sorry, but the constant mis-spelling of Nineveh was annoying. If you're going to write books for children, especially based on the bible, you ought to be able to spell - or at least read the word in the actual bible and copy it correctly. Second, author Alice Joyce Davidson gets no credit from me for stealing a concept from Lewis Carroll and turning it into a series of bible-based fables. All in all, I'm unimpressed.

- AnnaLovesBooks

This book is outstanding! My 2 toddlers love to hear this one at bedtime. It gives us such a wonderful opportunity to talk on their level about how God requires obedience, but forgives us and still loves us when we don't listen if we say we are sorry. Like someone else mentioned in their review, I'm online today to order several more of these stories for the kids' Easter baskets. The rhyme of the story does not distract from the message, which is great! The illustrations are perfectly suited for a child's imagination. Quit reading reviews and BUY the books- you won't regret it.

My 4 year old daughter absolutely adores this book! She calls it her Bible (she has two real Bibles; however, they don't hold her attention the way this one does) and insists on sleeping with it at night! I am ordering all the other Alice in Bibleland books based on the excellence of this book..