The Book of Jonah
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
Two-time Caldecott illustrator Peter Spier’s visual retelling of a favorite Bible story is back in print! In a tale full of action, adventure, and strife, Jonah is asked by God to tell the people of Nineveh to mend their wicked ways. Fleeing from this enormous task, Jonah sets sail and is thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. What follows is Jonah’s journey to acceptance of God’s love and grace.
A reference section at the end of the book shares historical and geographical notes about the story, including details about the ship Jonah might have sailed on and a fascinating discussion of the ancient city of Nineveh and the location of its ruins in present-day Iraq.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scholarship and artistic imagination inform the second work based on the Bible by the Caldecott Medalist. Like Spier's version of Noah's Ark, his story of disobedient Jonah retains the drama of the original, and the full-color pictures are wonderful, enhanced by details that mark them distinctively Spier's. Older boys and girls and adults will find the author's afterword additionally absorbing. He cites studies that place the story of Jonah between 400 b.c. and 200 b.c. by a writer aiming to prove that sincere repentance wins God's forgiveness. There is a history of Nineveh illustrated by maps showing ancient and modern areas, the latter pinpointing the city's ruins today. This is where God commanded Jonah to go and urge the citizens to reform, a duty he tried to escape by taking a ship to Tarshish, only to sink into the belly of the whale before getting a second chance to obey. (All ages)