On Noah's Ark

by Jan Brett, Jan Brett (Illustrator)

Overview

A marvelous menagerie from Jan Brett!

Jan Brett's intricate illustrations against a beautiful papyrus background make a stunning picture book of a favorite story -- this time featuring Noah's granddaughter. As the floodwaters rise, she helps take the animals onto the ark and get them settled down. But it's not easy when giraffes are sleeping next to pandas and lions are curled up with turkeys. Finally the gentle rocking of the ark lulls them all to sleep until the waters recede and Grandpa Noah, his family, and all the animals leave the ark. This simple telling, combined with the extraordinary illustrations of every animal imaginable, makes On Noah's Ark perfect for young and old.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399240287
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/29/2003
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.60(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

Read an Excerpt

On Noah's Ark

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By JAN BRETT

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

Copyright © 2003 Jan Brett
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0399240284

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Chapter One

Grandpa Noah says that the rains are coming. Soon the land will be covered with water.

Grandpa Noah is building an ark for our family and the animals to live on until it stops raining.

The ark is ready.

The animals go in two by two.

Big animals thump and bump onto the ark.

Middle-sized animals clip-clop by. Small animals squeeze in.

Flying creatures perch on beams above.

Swimming animals splish-splash below.

It rains and it rains.

Only the tops of mountains poke up above the water.

It is crowded inside the ark.

The animals push and shove each other.

The ark rocks back and forth like a giant cradle.

The animals fall asleep all jumbled in together.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from On Noah's Ark by JAN BRETT Copyright © 2003 by Jan Brett. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Admired children's book creator Jan Brett delivers this breathtaking version of the Noah's Ark tale, transfixing readers with her familiar lush, colorful illustrations and eye-catching borders -- but this time including an ancient, biblical twist. Told from the perspective of Noah's grandchild, Brett's simply worded, striking rendition follows the animals two-by-two as they climb into the ark and make it their home for 40 days and 40y nights. With papyrus-illustrated borders that feature animal-shaped windows opening into more action, the tale keeps the religious aspect at bay and focuses on the story itself, describing how "Big animals thump and bump onto the ark. Middle-sized animals clip-clop by. Small animals squeeze in. Flying creatures perch on beams above. Swimming animals splish-splash below." Each spread shows a bevy of fauna (some even now extinct) squeezed tightly into the ark, and when the rains are done and the ark hits dry land, all of the critters flock away: "East, west, north, and south they go. Some of the animals stay with us. Grandpa plants a new seed. Soon we will all be settled into this new place." Contrasted with the wintry hues of her Scandinavia-set books, Brett's warmly illustrated tale captures the animals' rich hues and the close quarters of the ark, giving audiences a fresh treat that showcases even more of her solid talent. Shana Taylor

bn.com

Brett (The Mitten), long celebrated for her lush depictions of animals in vibrant, often exotic settings, turns her focus to the popular Bible story-and omits the biblical framework. In a childlike, pleasingly spare text, Noah's grandchild describes some of the preparations made to protect her family and the world's animals from the impending rains. Soon, "The animals go in two by two./ Big animals thump and bump onto the ark..../ Small animals squeeze in." During the 40 days and 40 nights, "the ark rocks back and forth like a giant cradle," lulling its passengers to sleep; at last the vessel makes land, and "two by two the animals look for new homes." There's no mention of God or his relationship to Noah, nor any reason given for the Flood. The art, however, is characteristically striking. In her signature style, Brett depicts a story-within-the-story via smaller side panel artwork (she executes her work on papyrus, to recall the antiquity of the story). On each panel, a keyhole-like window in the shape of a different animal allows readers to view some of the action. In the main compositions, realistic-looking creatures of varying size and hue create a colorfully jumbled menagerie. While Brett leaves it to presiding adults to place the tale in its spiritual and/or storytelling context, her accomplished visuals should fully engage young readers. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Noah's granddaughter appears in this story of the ark and the animals do not just line up two by two, board the boat and silently wait until the weather clears. They thump and they bump, they clip-clop and they splish-splash, they push and they shove until their activity sets the ark rocking and they fall asleep in a gigantic jumble of creatures. The little girl quietly makes her way around and untangles the animals as the rain continues. Then one day the sun is shining. Noah sends a dove to explore and when the bird returns with an olive branch, Noah is sure land is near. When he goes ashore most of the animals go off in various directions, but a few stay with Noah and his granddaughter. Noah plants a seed and they begin to settle on the dry land. The intricate illustrations, done in watercolors and gouache with papyrus borders will appeal to kids, especially the detailed pictures of the jumble of animals. 2003, G P Putnam's Sons/Penguin Young Reader's Group, Ages 4 to 8.
— Carolyn Mott Ford

Children's Literature

PreS-Gr 2-Brett presents the biblical story from the perspective of Noah's granddaughter. The child watches the construction of the ark and the arrival of its passengers. Once they are on board and the rain falls, she untangles the crowded beasts so that they can all sleep peacefully. When the storm ends, Grandpa Noah releases her pet dove to search for land. After the creatures disembark, she helps him plant a seed to start life anew. This familiar story serves as a vehicle for Brett's watercolor-and-gouache panoramas of animals, birds, and insects from all corners of the Earth. Even the dodo appears. Each spread features a large scene surrounded by a papyrus border. Smaller pictures that relate to the central image are presented in animal-shaped frames to the left and right. Close-up views of insects appear near the corner of some pages and the dove also has a spot in many illustrations. Such details add to the book's interest for older children, who can find something new to explore during repeat readings. Brett's fans will recognize her artistic style, and where her work is popular, this book is a "must purchase." Other librarians may want to assess demand for Noah stories versus the number of titles in the collection, including Jerry Pinkney's Noah's Ark (North-South, 2002). If there is room for one more interpretation, this one is worth considering.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Bushels of interpretations of this Bible story exist, from humorous spins to wooden stylized images to an endangered animals slant, but Brett applies her familiar, appealing style and creates a child-friendly, beautifully crafted version. Told by the granddaughter of Noah, the girl brings her pet dove and keeps peace on the ark among the animals. Brett's signature framed and bordered scenes depict the multitude of creatures with sidebars of animal-shaped insets depicting close-ups of assorted animal behavior. Overflowing pages convey the sense of crowding as inventive perspectives capture animal traits. A trip to Africa inspired Brett to create the borders of papyrus paper. Only the flap copy identifies the gender of the child, who could be either boy or girl in the pictures. That aside, the voice of the granddaughter humanizes the story. Striking in its simplicity of telling, the watercolor and gouache artwork of birds, insects, and mammals breathes life into this apocryphal tale. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews