Inside Noah's Ark

Inside Noah's Ark, by Charles Reasoner (author and illustrator), is a jumbo board book filled with animal fun. It features vivid colors and die-cut doors and windows for peeking ahead and behind. Children can explore every level of the ark and dozens of different pairs of animals. The text is simple and short, only two rhyming verses on each two-page spread, leaving the focus on the crazy chaos that must have been. This book gives hardly any details, but it is a wonderful introduction to the biblical story of Noah inviting curiousity and sparking great interest in learning more.

What I Like: The illustrations are friendly and full of activity. This book features many animals frequently neglected in the story of Noah. It shows more than just elephants, monkeys and lions; readers also find turkeys, yaks, pelicans, polar bears, flamingos, walruses and more! Every time I read this book to my children, it turns into a game of "can you find this animal" and "what sound does he make". It's wonderful for kids' curiousity and discovery. They also love poking their little fingers through the windows and doors and seeing what is in front and behind. The pages are super thick and sturdy. My copy has survived three years, two toddlers and thirty-six teeth to date. It's still holding strong. :)

What I Dislike: There really is nothing that I dislike, however, this book does not give the complete story. There is no mention of why Noah and the animals are on a boat or Who put them there. It does mention the rainbow and say "God brought them back to land", but it fails to tell of the wonderful promise God made. While I very much like this book, it definitely requires supplements to fill in the blanks -- be that a parent explaining further or another book on the subject.

Overall Rating: Good!

Age Appeal: 0 - 3

Publishing Info: Price Stern Sloan, 2002; ISBN: 0-8431-4885-3; board book; $7.99

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Special Info: Two pages of this book (only 12 pages total) are devoted to Noah's wife. They read: "Mrs. Noah keeps things clean, On top, below, and in between." Some may find these comments sexist because there is no mention of anyone helping her and no mention of Noah doing any work on the ark.