Noah’s Ark
Author: Jerry Pinkney
Publisher/date: Sea Books, New York, 2002
Grade Level: K-4th

Summary: Retails the biblical story of the great flood and how Noah and his family faithfully responded to God’s call to save life on earth. Noah’s Ark is a short picture book that retells the story of the great flood that lasted forty days and forty nights. It begins with telling us how displeased God was with man and how Noah and his family were the only faithful people in the world. So God told Noah to build an ark and put two of each kind of animal in the ark along with his family. Noah did as God pleased and after forty days and forty nights of rain it suddenly stopped and Noah and his family found land and began all over. After the great flood God promised Noah that He would never send a flood upon the earth to destroy it again and left a rainbow to signify his promise.

Personal Reaction: I have loved this book ever since I was little and hearing it all through the years through church , and whenever it rains and a rainbow comes out I always think of this story and how God told Noah that He would never send a flood upon the earth ever again.

Extension: Paper Plate Noah’s Ark Craft

What you will need: Two 6” heavy duty paper plates, glue, crayons/markers, scissors, poster board.

Cut one paper plate in half. Cut a slight curve in the cut edge. Glue the two halves together to make the bottom of the ark. Cut the bottom of the ark from the poster board. Fold the pattern and glue together. Glue the top part of the ark to the bottom part of the ark. Cut a little off the bottom edge of the ark so it is not so rounded and will stand up better. Cut a slit using an exact knife in the middle of the second plate so that the ark fits into it. Cut two half inch slits running perpendicular and at each end of the first slit. This will hold up the ark. Color or paint.

**When the final project is done I would give the students animal crackers to place in there ark!!

Jerry Pinkney does a great job in retelling and illustrating this story. The story deals with the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark. Noah is told by God to build an ark to prepare for an upcoming flood. Despite the jeering of peers, Noah and his family build an ark and warn others that a flood is coming to put an end to the draught in the land, and to wipe the evil from the earth. In the end, God fulfills his promises, and Noah and the rest of the passengers on the ark are protected from the earth-shattering flood. Through the words as well as the illustrations, Pinkney conveys the tones (whether it be danger, security, etc.). This book is HIGHLY recommended! ( )

Retells the biblical story of the great flood and how Noah and his family faithfully responded to God's call to
save animal life on earth.

Stephanie Zvirin, Booklist, Oct. 1, 2002 (Vol. 99, No. 3)
”One of the best-known Old Testament stories gets a powerful traditional interpretation by an artist who seems utterly comfortable with the majesty of the tale, in terms of both meaning and visual scale. The deep rumble of a distant voice can almost be heard in the strong, straightforward text ("God was not pleased with the people of the earth. They did not care for one another. They did not care for the land that God made. And they did not care for God"), and the muscular pencil-and-watercolor art, in Pinkney's familiar style, stands up well to the telling. Scenes crowded with people and animals never seem too busy; and there's exciting drama in the rising water and the blowing winds. But the art is uneven, with a sameness to a few of the spreads, and sometimes the fascinating pencil underpinnings of the pictures are lost beneath the washes. Like the jacket art, however, there's much that is exceptional here, especially an impressive, quiet view of the ark sitting patiently as rain pounds the earth and the swirling sea begins to engulf the whole world. Definitely make room for this on the shelf. “ (from CLCD)
 Awards:
o Ralph Caldecott Medal, Honor Book, 2003
o Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Honor Book, 2002 ( )