God’s Rainbow
Title: God’s Rainbow
Author: Allia Zobel Nolan
Illustrator: Chi Chung
Publisher: Kregel Publications, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-8254-5537-7
Audience: Ages 3-6
Summary of Book: God’s Rainbow is a picture book which tells the story of Noah building the ark. God speaks to Noah and says “the world has forgotten about me, so I am starting over. Here’s what I want you to do.” Noah was obedient and he and his sons did just what God asked them to do and they built the ark. Then God sent the rain. It rained for forty days and forty nights but the ark sailed along and everyone and everything on board were safe and sound. After the rain stopped the ark came to rest on a mountain top and Noah sent a raven out to find land but the raven came back. A few days passed and Noah sent a dove out and it returned with an olive leaf in its beak. This was a good sign for Noah. A few days later and Noah sent the dove out again and it did not return. Then God spoke to Noah and told him it was safe to come off the ark. So everyone and every animal got off the boat and Noah and his family fell to their knees and thanked God for keeping them safe. When they looked up they saw beautiful colors in the sky, the first rainbow. The rainbow was a sign of God’s promise that he would never flood the whole earth again.
Literary Elements at Work: This book is a great teaching tool for young children. The author does a good job of telling Noah’s story. The author is assisted by the illustrator who does a very good job of helping to tell the story. The illustrator does a masterful job of slowly phasing out the ark and bringing in the rainbow. The pictures are bright and colorful and really enhance the story.
(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In this retelling of Noah and his family building the ark the perspective of race, culture, economics and ability really do not come into play. Noah was obedient to God and God took care of him and his family. The illustrator does show Noah and his wife working together as equals on several pages as well as his sons and their wives. It also shows them all kneeling together in prayer to thank God for keeping them safe.
Theology: This book is a great way to introduce children to the biblical story of Noah and the ark. It shows that God makes promises and he keeps them. It shows that God wants a relationship with us and that he loves us. Every time we see a rainbow we are reminded of this.
Faith Talk Questions:
- After reading this story what will you think of the next time you see a rainbow?
- Did you like the pictures in the book? Why or Why not?
- Do the pictures in the book help tell the story? Why or Why not?
- If God had spoken to you instead of Noah would you and your family have built the ark? Why or Why not?
- How big do you think the ark was?
- How long do you think it took Noah and his family to build the ark?
- If God asks you to do something that is difficult or hard to do, what do you do?
This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Bob Martin.
God’s Rainbow by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
