The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud by Jenny L. Cote

Oh, my are you in for a treat if you read this book. This would be a fun book to read aloud as a family. Much discussion and research can be used along with this book. You'll learn to love all God's wonderful creatures by the time your done reading this book that Jenny has written. I can't wait to read the next one (The Dreamer, the Schemer, and the Robe: Joseph - Due Aug. 2009) in the Max & Liz series and see what adventures Max & Liz will embark on. Jenny has given lots of good messages for young and old alike in her book. There is no doubt she did her research as she brought the animals to the ark. Through this book you not only learn about the Bible and messages hidden there, you learn geography and culture as well.

There was one theology issue that I noticed as reading: before the Flood there was no such thing as thunderstorms and rain and all. God watered the earth from beneath the ground. The earth was a tropic atmosphere. That is one reason the people scoffed so, because they didn't even know what rain and flooding was. Anyway, in the story one of Max's fears is thunderstorms. So for the sake of this trait in Max's character I did over look this. Hey, it's fiction. Use your imagination; Jenny sure did and did a beautiful job at it. Jenny mentioned in a footnote another theology issue that surfaced (how many of each animal came to the ark). So I give her this one. In fiction we can make anything happen. For the most part though the Bible truths and ideas were wonderful and right on.

I totally enjoyed this book and yes, I'm hooked on Max and Liz. It's fantasy, fiction and allegory. So just read and enjoy the journey through the eyes of animals. I put my stamp of approval on this one.

You'll learn to love them all for their personalities. Each animal has a definite personality and character trait. I don't know how Jenny kept it all straight. Go ahead take a family journey to the ark with the animals. Enter the magical, whimsical world of adventure as the animals journey to the ark. Great job Jenny!