Noah and the Mighty Ark

Noah and the Mighty Ark begins with the quote from Genesis in which God instructs Noah to “make yourself an ark out of cypress wood… bring two of every living thing into the ark.” The rhyming text goes on to elaborate upon God’s instructions to Noah. The reader sees Noah and his family building the ark (with the help of some adorable animal friends), provisioning it, and loading up the animals. Rain begins to fall as Noah and the animals gaze at the sky with concern, and it continues to fall as the disheartened passengers of the ark look on. Noah comforts the cramped and frightened animals until at last the dove appears with a message of hope. The tale ends with the animals prancing off the ark with God’s injunction to multiply (and a rainbow) hanging in the air.

Greene’s rhythmic narration combines with Spengler’s endearing illustrations to make this an entertaining tale. The animals are so expressive! This is a wonderful retelling of the bible story, but, in order to make it appropriate for small children, Greene has excluded a few details that the astute child will question. Noah and the Mighty Ark proved to be a springboard for a lengthy biblical discussion.