Prayers from the Ark

by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold, Rumer Godden (Translator)

An illustrated collection of poems, each a prayer by one of the animals in Noah's ark.

Genres: Poetry, Prayer, Picture Books, Christian, Religion

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[Dhanaraj Rajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book gave me simple, pure and innocent joy.

It contains some 27 prayers. All but one prayers are said by the animals in the ark of Noah who says the remaining one. The prayers are said in the form of short poems and accompanied by appropriate illustrations.

Here is an example:

THE PRAYER OF THE CAT

Lord,
I am the cat.
It is not, exactly that I have something to ask of You!
No---
I ask nothing of anyone---
but,
if You have by some chance, in some celestial barn,
a little white mouse,
or a saucer of milk,
I know someone who would relish them.
Wouldn't You like someday
to put a curse on the whole race of dogs?
If so I should say,
AMEN.

The other prayers are as lovely as this one. Reading out loud these poems/prayers to the kids would be a great joy. A great book both for the kids and the adults. Loved it.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

These short dramatic monologues are sweet, funny, and very convincing voices of the animals they portray.
"Dear God, / give us a flood of water. / Let it rain tomorrow and always," pray the Little Ducks.
"I do not mean to criticize / this house on my back-- / it has its points-- / but You must admit, Lord, / it is heavy to carry!" explains the Tortoise.
"Wouldn't You like someday / to put a curse on the whole race of dogs?" is, of course, the Cat's suggestion.
I don't usually like my poems to be so religious, but these are so original and charming that I quite enjoyed them anyway. A particular joy to read aloud, with voices. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to spend a few minutes flipping through and giggling sympathetically.

[Anne White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favourite in both French and English.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly pure and sweet. A book I will cherish forever.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this little book at our local Goodwill store, a collection of 26 poems written by a French poet and translated by English writer Rumer Godden. The poems are written in the form of prayers by a variety of animals including among others, the cat who asks the Lord to put a curse on dogs, the dog who asks for help in being a faithful guard dog, the mouse who asks to stay hidden and safe, the pig who asks why he was made to provide tender bacon, the monkey who wants someone to take him seriously, the goat who asks to continue to live in wild freedom, the elephant who asks for philosophic thoughts, and the old horse who asks for a gentle death. Each prayer is a humble offering of hope, and acceptance of the shape in which the animal was created. The book is beautifully illustrated by Jean Primrose.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have reread this book several times and enjoy it every time.

[Miriam Hrádeľová · Rating 5 out of 5]

detstvo, jednoduchosť, krása maličkosti

rozplakala, rozosmiala, pohladila

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Lord- I identify with each animal. I am each animal.
Amen

[Sophie Drt-Pmllr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprise gift that landed on my doorstep - and what a delightful one! I've only read this short collection of poets once, but I will no doubt dive in a few more times. I'm not a religious person so I was a little skeptical when I saw the name of the book. But each poem, written from the perspective of an animal on Noah's Ark, speaks to some more fundamental truths (not sure if that's the right word!). My favourite is probably the bee:

Lord,
I am not one to despise Your gifts.
May You be blessed
Who spread the riches of Your sweetness
For my zeal . . . .
Let my small span of ardent life
Melt into our great communal task;
To lift up to Your glory
This temple of sweetness,
A citadel of incense,
A holy candle, myriad-celled,
Molded of Your graces
And of my hidden work.
Amen.

Which carries even more meaning in the original French:

Que ma petite parcelle d'ardente vie
se fonde dans la grande activité communautaire
pour que s'élève, à votre gloire,
Ce temple de douceur
cette citadelle d'encens,
ce grand cierge cloisonné
pétri de vos grâces
et de mon obscur labeur !

Will chase down the original French text as it must be even more of a treat.

[Doris Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so neat. I loved the animal poems, since they weren't about pets. They were about animals rejoicing or lamenting being just animals. The pig knew he was being fattened up for bacon on the table. The cat would not ask for anything because he was a cat, but maybe God would get rid of all dogs if He so choose. The rooster was fall of himself because of his beauty and because he made the sun rise. To add to this lovely poetry the illustrations were fabulous. The duck was swimming in the rain, the giraffe was so tall he was close to the stars, all pictures so matched the poetry. Enchanting!

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet collection of poems written from the perspective of various animals. They were originally written in French and have here been translated into English. I especially enjoyed the illustrations that went along with each poem and appreciated the inclusion of a representative portion from each poem given in the original French to highlight each illustration.

[J]

The Prayer of The Glow-Worm


Dear God,
would You take Your Light
a little farther away
from me?
I am like a morsel
of cinder
and need Your night
for my heart to dare
to flicker out its feeble star:
its hope, to give to other hearts,
what can be stolen from all poverty-
a gleam of joy.





*

[Mary Lesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the sweet little poems in the book and need to remember this as a gift idea for the young animal lovers in my life!

[K. P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

a true delight, imaginatively wrought.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peculiar and charming little prayers, truly French in their sensibility (I’m looking forward to tracking down the originals now), paired with lovely illustrations and fascinating translator’s note + biography of the original author. A sweet used book store find that I expect to return to with joy.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Prayers from the Ark
By Carmen Bernos de Gasztold

[Klára · Rating 4 out of 5]

:'))

[Vinay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prayer of the Little Bird

Dear God,
I don't know how to pray by myself
very well,
but will You please
protect my little nest from wind and rain?
Put a great deal of dew on the flowers,
many seeds in my way.
Make Your blue very high,
Your branches lissom;
let Your kind light stay late in the sky
and set my heart brimming with such music
that I must sing, sing, sing.....
Please, Lord.
Amen

If somebody asks what is birdsong to you? What would you say?

The question makes me realize that I'm not a narcissist and that I have the capacity to listen to others sing(express themselves).

The Prayer of the Lark

I am here! O my God.
I am here, I am here!
You draw me away from earth,
and I climb to You
in a passion of shrilling,
to the dot in heaven
where, for an instant, You crucify me.
When will You keep me forever?
Must You always let me fall
back to the furrow's dip,
a poor bird of clay?
Oh, at least
let my exultant nothingness
soar to the glory of Your mercy,
in the same hope,
until death.
Amen

How can I overcome pain or grieve the loss of a loved one?

Have some hope. Time will heal you.


The Prayer of The Butterfly

Lord
Where was I?
Oh yes! This flower, this sun,
thank You! Your world is beautiful!
This scent of roses...
Where was I?
A drop of dew
rolls to sparkle in a lily's heart.
I have to go...
Where? I do not know!
The wind has painted fancies
on my wings.
Fancies...
Where was I?
Oh yes! Lord,
I had something to tell you:
Amen

What if my memory fails and I forgot my loved one?

I'll look into the mirror and remind myself of where I came from.

The Prayer of the Ox

Dear God, give me time.
Men are always so driven!
Make them understand that I can never hurry.
Give me time to eat.
Give me time to plod.
Give me time to sleep.
Give me time to think.
Amen

My Friend, I understand your pain and burden. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Best Regards,
Vinay A

[Karen Mcintyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of all the published editions of these poems. Barry Moser's illustrations are the perfect pairing for the simplicity and eloquence of the words. Rumor Godden did the translation from the French while at an Abbey in France where the poet lived.

Godden herself was a fascinating character and wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning book In this House of Brede (probably having done her research at the time of the translation of these poems). Born in 1907 she died in 1998. In 1995, a somewhat cranky Godden grudgingly gave my husband permission to set the poems to music when he was working on his Masters. As a Childrens Librarian,I had purchased the book because of the starred review in SLJ. I had been deeply touched by the depth of the poems and shared them with him. Disarming in their simplicity, they demonstrate the author's clear understanding of human nature when read through the lens of adult experience. Here is an example.

Prayer of the Ox

Dear God, give me time.
Men are always so driven!
Make them understand that I can never hurry.
Give me time to eat.
Give me time to plod.
Give me time to sleep.
Give me time to think.

Amen

[Wendy Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found it in a yard sale, picked it up because it had Rumer Godden's name on it, stuck it in the bathroom (hey, poems were the right length)and forgot about it.

One day it had worked its way to the front of the magazine rack, so I picked it up. Next thing I remember is wandering down the stairs reading it, my husband screaming, "Honey, HONEY! Pull up your trousers!"

I especially love the prayers of the pig, the ducks "Bless all those who know how to swim!!!" the dog and the donkey "let me find my little brother of the manger once more". And the rooster and the lark. And the colt and the cricket. The rooster "It is I who make the sun rise."

Okay, I love them all. And the back story of how they came to be written and how they got translated by Godden is wonderful. No effort is ever wasted; someday somebody finds your stuff in the corner cupboard and VOILA! something nice happens.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received PRAYERS FROM THE ARK as a gift, and it is a treasure, working its way through paintings of and prayers by various occupants on the Ark, including Noah. As for the animals, Bernos de Gasztold's poems give voice less to their experience of the flood than to their creatureliness, character, needs and place in the created order. With an almost pitch-black cover, the inside opens up on ivory paper showcasing each companion painting that is almost like looking through a window into each stall. Ah, Barry Moser's paintings!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite translations of beautiful prayers in verse made by animals on the ark-- I first found as a child in my grandparents' bookshelves and still love. some are funny, some sad, all are spot-on in catching the voice and mood of each creature. Read these!

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really beautiful - poems, which are prayers from all the animals on the ark, with drawings to go along. The drawings are beautiful, the poems are inventive and lovely.

[Irene Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my very most favorite book. It's a slender book chock full of the most delightful poems. Very user friendly and guaranteed to please with a smile and a sigh.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and thoughtful prayers from different creatures on the Ark. I wish I could buy a copy of this now out of print book.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read one with a different cover: the version I saw had a dark cover with an illustration of the ark on the waters.

[Adams' Country Retreat · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites!

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book delightfully found using serendipity in the book shop in Silverton. Lovely poems, thoughtfully translated, and perfect for the end of sermons.