Jonah and the Two Great Fish
by Mordicai Gerstein
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Retells the Old Testament story of the man who disobeyed God's wishes and was swallowed by a great fish.Tags
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Picture book retelling of the story Jonah and the whale
Recalls the Old Testament story of the man who disobeyed God's wishes and was swallowed by a great fish.
Susan Dove Lempke (Booklist, October 1, 1997 (Vol. 94, No. 3))
The Old Testament story of the reluctant prophet Jonah, who runs away from God and is swallowed by a fish, is embellished and enriched by Jewish legends. Gerstein uses two fish in this version--one luxuriously furnished inside and the other a monster, "dark and crowded" --and instead of having God merely explain His right to preserve or destroy the city of Nineveh, God helps Jonah understand that his hurt at being called a "false prophet" is not worth the lives of Nineveh's people. Gerstein nicely juxtaposes intensely colored, detailed pictures of the creatures of the sea with paintings that reflect the open spaces of the desert. The human characters are delightfully show more expressive, and children will be particularly interested in seeing the imaginative ways Gerstein uses natural objects, such as the sun and clouds, to reveal the face and hands of God. Category: For the Young. 1997, Simon & Schuster, $16. Ages 4-8. (CLCD) show less
The Old Testament story of the reluctant prophet Jonah, who runs away from God and is swallowed by a fish, is embellished and enriched by Jewish legends. Gerstein uses two fish in this version--one luxuriously furnished inside and the other a monster, "dark and crowded" --and instead of having God merely explain His right to preserve or destroy the city of Nineveh, God helps Jonah understand that his hurt at being called a "false prophet" is not worth the lives of Nineveh's people. Gerstein nicely juxtaposes intensely colored, detailed pictures of the creatures of the sea with paintings that reflect the open spaces of the desert. The human characters are delightfully show more expressive, and children will be particularly interested in seeing the imaginative ways Gerstein uses natural objects, such as the sun and clouds, to reveal the face and hands of God. Category: For the Young. 1997, Simon & Schuster, $16. Ages 4-8. (CLCD) show less
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56+ Works 6,807 Members
Mordicai Gerstein was born in Los Angeles, California in 1935. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in California. He designed and directed animated films for twenty-five years. In 1970, he met author Elizabeth Levy, who asked him to illustrate her children's book Something Queer Is Going On. He has illustrated all of the books in her Something show more Queer series. He decided to try his hand at writing. His first picture book, Arnold of the Ducks, was published in 1980 and adapted into an animated film. He has also retold many ancient religious stories, such as that of Jonah in his book, Jonah and the Two Great Fish. He has won many awards including 2 CINE Golden Eagle Awards from the International Film and Television Festival of New York. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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