REVIEW: Noah and the Mighty Ark by Rhonda Gowler Greene, Illustrated by Margaret Spengler

Another book that I have the pleasure of reviewing for Zonderkidz is Noah and the Mighty Ark by Rhonda Gowler Greene, illustrated by Margaret Spengler.

This book is a sweet, rhyming retelling of the ever-popular Noah's Ark story.  It doesn't vary much from the actual Biblical account, aside from leaving out the less entertaining bits like the dimensions of the ark itself.  Each phrase is written in a rhyme, making it a little more fun to read and more fun for kids to hear.  I'd say it's appropriate for kids of all ages, but with the paper pages, it's best to keep out of the hands of kids who are still rough with books, like my 19 month old.

The illustrations are ... odd.  Let me explain.  They are huge, full-page illustrations that are vibrant and cartoon-ish.  They seem like they should be fantastic.  However, they're fuzzy.  Blurry.  Ever-so-slightly out of focus.  It seems to be on purpose and not a printing error, as the text printed on each page is crisp and clear.  Looking at this illustrations for too long actually almost gives me a headache, as I feel like my contact prescription needs to be adjusted!  Here's an example of the full page illustrations and then a closeup of the clear text with the out-of-focus illustration...

I don't understand why they would do this to such vibrant, entertaining pictures.  Maybe they think that kids enjoy a softened look?  Maybe they think it looks more like stuffed animals?  I have no clue.  But I really can't read this one too often because of it.  Ellie doesn't seem to mind, though.  I have neutral feelings about this book, overall.  It's really cute and I like the rhyming aspect of the story and the big, bright colors of the pictures.  However, the out-of-focus aspect bothers me.  I can neither recommend or (what's the opposite of recommend???) not recommend this book.

Disclaimer: Zondervan provided me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes.