Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-5. One of the best-known Old Testament stories gets a powerful traditional interpretation by an artist who seems utterly comfortable with the majesty of the tale, in terms of both meaning and visual scale. The deep rumble of a distant voice can almost be heard in the strong, straightforward text («God was not pleased with the people of the earth. They did not care for one another. They did not care for the land that God made. And they did not care for God»), and the muscular pencil-and-watercolor art, in Pinkney's familiar style, stands up well to the telling. Scenes crowded with people and animals never seem too busy; and there's exciting drama in the rising water and the blowing winds. But the art is uneven, with a sameness to a few of the spreads, and sometimes the fascinating pencil underpinnings of the pictures are lost beneath the washes. Like the jacket art, however, there's much that is exceptional here, especially an impressive, quiet view of the ark sitting patiently as rain pounds the earth and the swirling sea begins to engulf the whole world. Definitely make room for this on the shelf. Stephanie Zvirin.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-Pinkney provides a fresh perspective on an often-interpreted story without introducing unusual characters. He employs watercolor and colored pencil to create a world so filled with life that not even a flood can erase its energy. His straightforward account of Noah's story includes only minor variations from the Genesis narratives. The illustrations tell much more. Noah and his family are sturdy farmers, but they are dwarfed by the ark they build. Gathering provisions, they endure the taunts of neighbors. Waiting to board, the animals spill across the pages, not in tidy lines but in messy abundance. Yet, during the voyage, humans and animals share space peacefully. Before Noah's story starts, Pinkney offers a seascape celebrating the goodness of creation. Many of the ocean dwellers reappear in a panorama in which they swim over drowned cities while the ark floats above. Such details add to the book's visual discoveries. The final view of Earth adorned with clouds and rainbows as it floats through space reinforces the unspoken message of the wonder and fragility of the natural world. Yes, another "Noah's Ark" book needs to be squeezed onto shelves, but this one won't sit there long.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) ""In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."" These hand-lettered words appear on the front endpapers, and the abundant prehistoric creatures pictured there serve as a prelude to Pinkney's vision of a world rich in beauty and brimming with life, both before and after the flood. The narration, which goes beyond raven and dove to a first harvest and the rainbow, is clean and spare, its simple declarative sentences only occasionally varied with fanciful expressions (the ark ""rose over their heads. It rose over the treetops. The strong wooden beams embraced the clouds""). The glory of the book is its pencil and watercolor illustrations, the crowds of animals swirling so close to the picture plane they seem ready to leap into the reader's lap. The artfully composed, full-bleed spreads are varied with creative points of view, notably the ark seen from above as the rains begin and from below as it floats over the drowned, doomed cities. The closing endpapers depict the earth in space, wreathed in rainbows: ""Seedtime and harvest...shall never cease as long as the earth endures."" There never seem to be too many Noah's Arks; this one, eloquently imbued with love and reverence for God and the natural world, belongs in every library. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Pinkney, at his grandest, matches a poetically phrased text-the Ark "rose over their heads. It rose over the treetops. The strong wooden beams embraced the clouds"-with sweeping spreads of dappled paintings that capture brilliantly the hugeness of the Ark a-building, the wonder of so many creatures gathering peaceably to crowd aboard, and the closing glory of a planet festooned with rainbows as signs of God's promise to the Charlton Heston-like Noah. Of the making of Noahs there seems to be no end, but while other recent versions of the tale put Noah's family on center stage, or feature realistically depicted animals or humorous touches, this brings out the vast scale of the flood: "The water rose over cities and towns. Whales swam down ruined streets. Schools of fish darted through empty windows." But turn the page and there inside "everyone was safe." Filling his pages with lovely earth tones, Pinkney's occasional use of color stands out all the more: a baboon's multicolored nose, a bright blue robe, a bright red apple, or a bird's brilliant plumage. And then there's all that water. A glorious choice for reading aloud. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
