JONAH: An Old Testament Story

by Beverly--Illus. & Adapt. Brodsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 7, 1977

Any significance or story value that this Biblical tale might have for children is drowned out by Brodsky's sonorous tone. And for those unfamiliar with Old Testament assumptions, her narrative will be as disconcerting and choppy as the sea into which God's disobedient prophet is pitched: on page two (Jonah identifies himself on page one), God orders him to Nineveh but he doesn't see fit to obey; then, on the next page, abruptly, ""I fled to Joppa, where I found a ship that would take me to Tarshish."" Turn again, to ""I felt free""--a reaction as unaccountable, or at least as unaccounted for, as the flight. It reads like an imitation of edifying legend, just as Brodsky's seeping watercolors, on rough paper that forces attention to the painterly effects of large brush strokes and wet-on-wet color application, look like an imitation of Art.

Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1977

Categories: CHILDREN'S