Noah's Ark

by Lucy Cousins

A simple version of one of the world's most popular stories from the Bible. This version of the story is designed for very young children, who will enjoy the brightly-coloured illustrations and many animal portraits. Lucy Cousins was runner-up for the 1988 Macmillan Prize and the 1989 Bologna Graphics Prize with her book "Portly's Hat". She has also illustrated "Maisy Goes to Bed", "Maisy Goes Swimming" (winner of a Mention for the Bologna Critici in Erba Prize), "Maisy Goes to the Playground" "Maisy Goes to Playschool", "Maisy's ABC", "Farm Animals", "Pet Animals", "Country Animals" and "Garden Animals". She is also the illustrator for "What Can Rabbit See?", "What Can Rabbit Hear?", "Around the House", "Around the Garden", "Around the Park". "Around the Farm" and "Za-Za's Baby Brother".

Genres: Picture Books, Religion, Childrens, Folklore, Christian, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Lucy Cousins, BA Honours in Graphic Design from The Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton Polytechnic, postgraduate degree from Royal College of Art, is an author-illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her books featuring Maisy Mouse but she has also published other children's books including one about Noah's Ark. She is a mother of four and lives in Hampshire, England. Her own children are the inspiration for her books whose age range is 2-8.

Reviews

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute little illustration of the Bible story Noah's Ark.

[Brandi Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy Cousins' retelling of "Noah's Ark" is a picturebook intended for young children ages birth to 5 years(N).
In this book Cousins retells and illustrates the story of how Noah builds an ark and uses it to shelter his family and 2 of each type of animal from 40 days and nights of continuous rain.
I rated this book 3 out 5. Though Cousins' use of bold bright acrylics to illustrate the story is attractive, I feel that the story has been oversimplified. I can not help wondering how much more useful the book would be absent the text.
If I had a classroom, this book would probably be used more for independent exploration. I would probably read the story from a children's Bible and use the pictures in this book as visual aids.
This book is available in print.

[BB · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't explore the moral implications of what happened.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice colourful book which would be great to use in RE with very young children as it brings a traditional bible story to life in a very simplistic way.

[A YOGAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Die Arche Noah“ von Lucy Cousins erzählt auf den ersten Blick eine einfache Tiergeschichte, offenbart bei genauerem Hinsehen jedoch tiefgründige Gedanken über menschliches Verhalten und kulturelles Wissen. Nachdem meine Kinder Zeus kennengelernt hatten, eröffnet der Begriff Jupiter eine spannende Brücke zwischen Physik, Kulturwissenschaften und Religion. So wird aus einer scheinbar einfachen Geschichte ein spannender Einstieg in Fragen nach Wissen, Macht und den widersprüchlichen Impulsen, die unser Denken und Handeln prägen.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Lucy Cousins’s work! Her version of Noah’s Ark is no exception. Her bright, bold colored artwork paired with large, bold font is perfect for young readers. Highly recommended.

[TJE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent description of story for young children. Illustration is of bathtub ark.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Checked out from Kilbourn Public Library (from Stoughton), currently on week 1 of ABCJesusLovesMe toddler curriculum (Bible story of the week is Noah’s Ark)

[McKenna Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Religious Picture Book
Awards: none
Audience: 4-7 years old
A. This is a religious picture book because it tells the story of Noah's Ark through narration and illustration, which is integral to the story.
B. Color plays an important role in this story. Specifically, the colors of each animal are different, which allows the reader to recognize and familiarize themselves with these animals. The colors also show the contrast between the darkness of the rain and the brightness afterwards, which symbolizes a new beginning from God.
C. I would use this book in a small group children's Bible study in order to teach the concept of God keeping His promises to us and always knowing what is best for us. He promised to remove all the evil from the world and start anew, which is what happened. I believe it is important to teach this concept to children at an early age.
D. How long did it rain for? 40 days and 40 nights.

[Louise Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Books-religious picture books
Awards: none
Audience: 5-8 yrs
A. This book is religious because it is a story in the Bible turned into a picture book so that children can easily understand the content of the story.
B. I love the composition of the illustrations because it makes it look like a little kid drew it and make the illustrations. This adds an element of a youth to the story that makes it more comfortable for students to understand.
C. I would teach this in a whole group setting. We could talk about the story and what it means after we read it. It is a great introduction to the Bible for students.
D. How did God punish the people? through a flood

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for young children learning some of the stories from the Bible. In this book, it went through the Bible story, Noah's ark. In this, Noah was told he should build an ark and put two of each animal on the boat. Then a huge storm came which flooded the land. After the storm had passed, the dove flew out to try finding any sign of plant life. The dove came back with a twig. This meant there was land near. At this time all the animals and Noah got off the boat. This is a great way to go through the stories in the Bible. It makes it easier for younger children to understand.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book- Religious Picture book
Awards: none
Audience: 4-8
A. The bible story of Noah and his Ark is told in a way that a child could understand.
B. The repetition of Noah in every picture helps the reader understand the importance of his character. The simple to read text helps the reader follow along with the illustrations.
C. I would use this book one on one because it allows for the reader to ask questions about religious origins.
D. What did Noah bring inside his ark?

Lots and lots of animals.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, "Noah's Ark" is an example of traditional literature since it is an actual bible story. I thought this was a very smart and creative way to describe the story of Noah's Ark. It seemed like it would be really easy for kids to comprehend and understand what is actually going on. Also, all the pictures are very children friendly. I truly believe that this book was a great depiction of the story of Noah's Ark.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I really like the illustrations for this version of the story, but that doesn't get around the fact that the story is actually quite terrifying and this book does nothing to make the story more... friendly? Not that the book should have to do that, but I'm just not seeing myself reading this to a small child again any time soon.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the simplicity of this book. It is perfect for young children as well as old. It was simple and easy to follow. Sometimes stories that we try to understand from the Bible can be hard to follow and a bit complex given all the details that take place back in olden times, but this one was done well for the age is was intended for. Great pics too.

[Susanna Finley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noah's book is a traditional story with a twist to help engage younger children through the use of vivid colors and cartoon animals and people. This book helps children learn a traditional story at a fairly young age- including details such as, two every animal entered the ark and that God told Noah that there would be a flood throughout the entire earth and to begin preparing.

[Sarah Zarymbski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a very good book for kids to understand the concept of the story of Noah and the ark. The pictures were very helpful in telling the story, because they showed exactly what the words said, in a basic drawing that isn't hard to understand. I categorized this as Traditional Literature because this story has been told for years, but in so many different ways.

[Catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would keep this book in my home, but not in my classroom. I love the pictures and the way the author simplified the version of this story. I feel that it captured the story while making it fun and creative. Overall, I love this book and its' pictures.

[Emmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy made me get this book at the library. It wasn't really my usual kind of book. She said she wants me to be open to all kinds of books. I kind of pushed it under the couch but she pulled it out and read it to me. I really just wanted to read "The Foot Book" again.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is short, yet explains the story of Noah and the Great flood for young children. The 17 pages are filled with bright illustrations and short, easy sentences. This is a great way for children to get introduced to Bible stories, and also encourages them to follow along while reading.

[Dobby Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author's illustration makes people happy. I like her styles, but there is one thing I feel sorry. That is about Noah's sons. Really they had wives and eight people were in the ark. But in this book only five people. I think this is very important fact.

[chellaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boys loved the pictures in this book about Noah's ark. It is a very simple and easy book, my 1 year old loves the colors. The story is very easy to follow. We enjoyed it. The one thing that would have been nice to see at the end was the Rainbow, my 3 year was sad when he didn't see the rainbow.

[Eva_Amaré · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that there are so many different animals to identify and mama likes to make her silly animal sounds which make me laugh, because she's not that good. Ava was ignoring us, so I got mommy to read it over and over and over...

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takes the beauty out of the story. Maybe the author is not a Christian? Seemed to be mostly about the animals. Showed God as wanting to kill the people and not responsible for their redemption and rainbow.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done, faithful to the Bible story, great for toddlers

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say I've probably seen better Noah books illustration wise/creativity wise. Biblically though it is very sound for a board book!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sums up the Noah's Ark story nicely for children. The illustrations are fun and simple. This book is very understandable for children.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

board book, using for preschool church class, cute!

[Gianni Llano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simply story telling of Noah's Ark, with great illustrations.

[Sarah M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a child relatable story of Noah and the Ark. It explains how God told Noah to build an ark and the rest of the story. This book is targeted towards the age group from two to five years.