Jonah and the Worm

by Jill Briscoe

A retelling of the Old Testament story of Jonah using worms as the principal characters. Each chapter is followed by discussion questions and suggestions of prayers.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Jill Briscoe has an active speaking and writing ministry that has taken her to many countries. She has written more than 40 books, including study guides, devotional material, poetry, and children's books.

Jill is executive editor of Just Between Us , a magazine of encouragement for ministry wives and women in leadership. She serves on the board of World Relief and Christianity Today, Inc.

A native of Liverpool, England, Jill launched into youth evangelism after becoming a Christian at age 18. She married her husband, Stuart, in 1958, and since then they have ministered together through Telling the Truth media ministries at conferences and mission organizations around the world. They reside in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Stuart completed 30 years of ministry as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church. Both Stuart and Jill now serve Elmbrook as ministers-at-large. They have 3 children, David, Judy, and Peter, and enjoy the blessing of 13 grandchildren.

Jill and Stuart call suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin their home. When they are not traveling, they spend time with their three children, David, Judy and Peter, and thirteen grandchildren.

Reviews

[delilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very great retell of the story. very impressed by the imagination of Briscoe! it often occurred to me that if HIS people are not obeying, God will simply use any other form of creatures or formats to finish His salvation, and we would simply be omitted from this amazing salvation story.

[Thequaminator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story with a great message. Good to read to kids under ten.

[Jason Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jonah and the Worm, tells the biblical story of Jonah through the perspective of a worm called, Little Worm. The worm experiences similar challenges as Jonah’s yet his story has a much different ending. In the process the worm learns the importance of obedience to God, the consequences of disobedience, the fruit of obedience and the never-ending nature of God’s love and mercy.

Jill Briscoe’s tale is cute and approachable for people of all ages. She does a fine job of remaining faithful to the biblical narrative and communicating the accepted intent of the original text. Still, not all of her attempts to add color and originality to the text work. Some additions don’t seem to add anything either imaginative or educational. And the ending seems utterly predictable children’s book material without adding anything substantive to the story.

Since this book was written with children in mind, I read it with mine. And they enjoyed the book, eagerly discussing the reflection questions at the end of each chapter. I enjoyed the book and only thought that chapter six was a bit more graphic than some families might be comfortable with. But Briscoe’s most profound addition to this ancient tale was the depiction of God as “the Wonder Maker.” The God of the Old Testament-so frequently read by today’s reader as harsh and unloving-is painted here as a God that loves yet disciplines. And this can be summed up in her depiction of God’s voice, “that sounded like a million waterfalls.” Beautiful yet overwhelming.

For those looking for material that will assist you in sharing biblical stories with your children, this may be a helpful addition. While certainly better than VeggieTales, I’d recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible over this book. The latter obviously holds more than just one biblical story but also treats the stories with more... holiness. They are not stand alone stories, but part of a Grand Narrative and should be read as such. Sometimes, I fear that books such as Briscoe’s cheapen the biblical narrative in this regard. Our kids are barraged with cute stories with talking animals. I, for one, want them to know that there’s something distinct about the stories found in Scripture. And I feel as though part of our job, as parents, is to help connect the stories together for them to see the bigger story of God at work. If that seems like a big deal... believe me, your kids are more ready for that than you are most likely.

[BJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute kids book re-telling the story of Jonah from the life of Little Worm.

"God appointed a worm"--Little Worm is that worm.

Reading it to the family would work, as it has some good devotional themes and questions and prayers at the end of each chapter. Not theologically perfect, but still very good.