While the gimmick is fun, this ark doesn’t hold water.
A very simple retelling of Noah and the Great Flood.
In rhyming verse, God tells Noah (“a brave, good man”) to build an ark and gather the animals as a couple of unnamed members of his family help out. Five double-page spreads present the scenes from this section of Genesis, ending with the appearance of the rainbow as God says “No floods like this again.” While the text succeeds in highlighting the parts of the story of most interest to the youngest children, the verse has several hiccups. The boldly colored art, which looks to have been created digitally, includes a wide variety of critters in the scenes, including two clown fish jumping through the waves. Unfortunately, it falls down in presentation as some of the cartoon animals and backgrounds look quite detailed and crisp, while others are jarringly blurred. More enticing for little ones will be the shaped, die-cut pages. The top of the book is arched like the rainbow or, depending on the page, the ceiling of the ark, and the curve also acts as a handle for toddlers to grasp. The die cuts allow the animals to peek through subsequent pages, but some stray images, like the top of the ark or Noah’s head, show through in odd places.
While the gimmick is fun, this ark doesn’t hold water. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-60557-1
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Little Shepherd/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
A sweet introduction to prayer and its purpose.
God is present at all times.
As little ones wake up, go to school, play games, do chores, and more, God is always with them. This board book provides reassurance that the Lord is always watching over his children, and all it takes is a quick prayer to open one’s heart to Him. The prayer snippets promised by the subtitle are all appropriate quotes from the book of Psalms and should be easy enough for little ones to memorize. As two white children set out for school, for instance, the accompanying prayer is “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalms 16:1). Companion title Good Night: A Toddler’s Bedtime Prayer, by Emmanuelle Rémond-Dalyac and illustrated by Nathalie Dieterlé, is concurrently published but features an original prayer rather than one from the Bible that helps children reflect on their day and look for God’s hand in it. The illustrations in both are serviceable, featuring happy children and smiling parents—the heavy preponderance of them white—colored with muted blues, greens, and yellows.
A sweet introduction to prayer and its purpose. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5064-2498-9
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Sparkhouse
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
The dullness of the chosen hues dampens the soothing lines.
This bedtime book pairs reassuring, original blessings with Bible verses from Psalms, Proverbs, and Deuteronomy.
Almost every double-page spread features a young animal with an older companion, likely a parent. A very pale-green whale and a calf surface on a gray sea at sunset; a gray-and-white wolf and cub frolic in the moonlight; and a black-and-white bird feeds a young hatchling still in the nest. Text set in a large, white or deep gray type displays Assell’s sweet messages (“Tonight, most precious gift, you are safe”) while the Bible verses that inspire them appear below (“I lay down and slept safely” Psalm 3:5, Amplified Bible version). Exclusively male language is used for God, and several different translations of the Bible are quoted; in addition to the AMP, readers will encounter the New Living Translation, New International Version, and God’s Word. While Copple’s cartoon animals can be endearing, the color palette rests heavily on shades of gray, white, and dull orangey-pink, making many of the landscapes look bleak rather than comforting. The penguin perched by itself on an angular iceberg facing the setting sun, for instance, looks very much alone, textual assurance otherwise notwithstanding.
The dullness of the chosen hues dampens the soothing lines. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4964-3624-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Tyndale House
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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