Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Book Review: Jonah and the Great Big Fish by Rhonda Gowler Greene, Illustrated by Margaret Spengler


Jonah and the Great big Fish, as the title suggests, is a children’s book about the story of Jonah. In this adaptation of the story for children ages 4-8, the author uses age appropriate language and rhyming to convey the highlights of Jonah’s decision to disobey God’s command and the consequences he faced. The book ends with Jonah finally going to Ninevah as God had originally commanded, but does not cover the rest of the story from there.

This book definitely presents the story in a clear manner that is easily understood by children. The author stays true to the Bible, but keeps it simple. Of course, it doesn’t cover the entire book of Jonah with the part about the plant and the worm, but many children’s renditions of the story omit that part as well. I did appreciate that she referred to a fish and not a whale. Of course, we don’t know the exact identity of the creature, but since the Bible calls it a fish, I like to assume it is a fish! Although the book is presented in a simple, easy to understand manner, it is still very thorough. The author makes it clear that Jonah’s disobedience gets him into his situation, and his repentance and obedience gets him out of it.

The illustrations were very colorful and beautiful, and I found the book overall to have excellent visual appeal. Even the print is adjusted to the story, with some words bigger than others or wavy in order to illustrate the story better. This is a book that I would enjoy reading with my child, and I believe that children would enjoy it as well. My daughter will have it as part of her library to read when she is old enough!



I received this book for free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

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