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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J 224 GERSTEIN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Jonah is a reluctant prophet. God asks him to warn the wicked people of Ninevah that He will destroy their city in forty days, but Jonah wants nothing to do with it. What if he stuttered or forgot what to say? Surely God needs someone much more capable to carry out such an important mission. So Jonah tries to run away and hide, but God always finds him. Jonah is swallowed by a great fish who has been waiting since the creation of the world just for this particular occasion, to help change Jonah's mind. But this fish is spacious and well-furnished -- so comfortable, in fact, that it looks as though Jonah will never want to leave! So God orders another, much larger fish to swallow Jonah, and this fish is not so comfortable. Jonah finally relents and the second great fish spits him onto dry land so that he can warn the citizens of Ninevah. The people change their ways in time, but then, when they are not destroyed by God, they accuse Jonah of being a false prophet. When Jonah complains to God about this injustice, God shows him that saving lives is far more important than saving one's pride.
Veteran author-illustrator Mordecai Gerstein
Author Notes
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 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)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3A delightful version of Jonah's journey to Ninevah combines some charming legends from Jewish tradition with the basic Bible story. The text is simple and straightforward for early readers, and makes a lively and colorful read-aloud. Jonah is first swallowed by a fish in which he lives in luxury for three days, before being swallowed again by a larger, less comfortable, variety, from which he is glad to be expelled on the shore near Ninevah. What sets the book apart from the many fine versions of the Jonah story are the enthralling oil paintings that sparkle with humor, imagination, and absorbing details. Done in a richly hued folk-art style that is sophisticated in its depiction of character and its balance and rhythm, the pictures are brimming with life and warmth. When God speaks to Jonah, his amorphous, bearded head, with a moon, star, sun, or bird to mark his eye, looms in the sky above, or his powerful, directing hand is outlined in the clouds. In a varied format, some illustrations are framed neatly, and some flow freely across double-page spreads. The typeface is clear and well spaced. Even if Peter Spier's The Book of Jonah (Doubleday, 1985; o.p.), Geoffrey Patterson's Jonah and the Whale (Lothrop, 1992), Beverly Brodsky's Jonah (Lippincott, 1977; o.p.), and Warwick Hutton's Jonah and the Great Fish (MacMillan, 1984; o.p.) are already in your collections, make room for Gerstein's Jonah as well.Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In a respectful retelling with touches of humor, Gerstein augments the biblical story of Jonah with other Jewish material from the midrash to tell a full and dramatic tale of the reluctant prophet. His storytelling style is traditional and strong, and the detailed illustrations, done in a palette of blues and greens, add drama to the tale. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-8. 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 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. --Susan Dove Lempke