Jonah’s Whale

Name of Book:  Jonah’s Whale

Author:  Eileen Spinelli

Illustrator:  Giuliano Ferri

Publisher:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

ISBN:  9780802853820

Audience:  Ages 4 to 9

Summary:  This is the story of Jonah’s encounter with the whale from the whale’s perspective.  God created Whale and gave him everything that he needed: a family, food to eat, joyful songs to sing, and a beautiful ocean in which to swim and play.  Then God called upon Whale to rescue a drowning man from a stormy sea.  Whale did as he was told, but no matter how hard he listened, he couldn’t hear any more directions from God regarding what to do with the fellow who was now in his stomach.  Finally, on the third night, Whale heard new instructions to spit the man Jonah onto dry land.  This he did, and then he returned to the open sea, where he spent his remaining years singing his sweet song, ready to rescue anyone else who needed him.

Literary elements at work in the story:  Though the gripping narrative of a terrible storm, a man lost at sea, and his rescue by a gargantuan whale is embedded in this book, it is really the character development of the whale that moves this story along.  Unlike most accounts of the scriptural Jonah, the reader learns next to nothing about the man tossed from the ship here.  Instead, Jonah’s Whale begins with Whale’s creation and follows him as he revels in all that God has provided for him.  Ferri’s lovely watercolor and colored pencil illustrations show us a whale who cannot stop smiling as he sings and romps in a blue-green sea.  Even in the crucial swallowing and spitting up scenes, we see only a shadow of a prostrate man through the whale’s sides.  The point here is Whale’s commitment to follow God’s instructions, no matter how long he must swim around, slightly nauseous, waiting to hear God’s word.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? There are no female characters in this story, but otherwise gender, race, and economics do not figure in the tale.

Theological conversation partners:  The obvious use of Jonah’s Whale would be in conjunction with the biblical story of Jonah. It would be particularly interesting to compare Whale’s willingness to follow God’s orders with Jonah’s reluctance to do so.  This story would also be interesting to use with other scripture on following God’s will, e.g., “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Faith talk questions:

1. Why do you think that Whale was so happy in the beginning of this book?
2. Think back to the Bible story of Jonah in the storm.  Why was he in the ship in the first place?
3. Why did Whale swallow Jonah?
4. What was Whale doing when he finally heard more instructions from God about what to do with the man in his belly?
5. What do you think that God created you to do?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Beth Lyon-Suhring.

The Listening Walk

Name of Book:  The Listening Walk

Author:  Paul Showers

Illustrator:  Aliki

Publisher:  Harper Collins

Audience:  Ages 3 – 7

Summary:This is the story of a little girl who, while walking quietly with her father down city streets, a forest trail, a park path, and all around, encounters sounds—whrrring cars, bomping balls, prrroooing pigeons, bzzzing bees, waaaing babies.

Literary Elements at Work:  This story is told from the perspective of a little girl, a little girl basking in the company of her father’s time and care, and in the glorious sense of sound!  Using inventive spelling and “word” placement, Paul Showers helps the listener to hear the pigeon’s call, prrroooing; a baby’s cry, waaaing and many, many more glorious sounds.  The tale is ushered along by the artistry of Aliki, who has been illustrating children’s literature since 1960!  Aliki assists the listener in the journey of walking and listening by means of bright, vivid color and simple lines.

Scripture:

Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.”  Psalm 98  The psalmist tells us to sing to the LORD, and that all the earth sings songs of praise right along with us—the sea roars, the floods clap their hands, and the hills sing for joy!  Isaiah 55:12  The prophet Isaiah echoes the psalmist by telling us that the mountains and hills break into singing and all the trees of the field clap their hands.

Theology:  In the beginning, God so loved the world that God gave to it us; AND, God so loved us that God gave to us the world.

God has created mountains to sing, seas to roar, floods to clap and hills to break forth into singing.  In addition, in an amazing act of extravagance God has given us to the mountains, and seas, and hills, and trees to plant and feed and tend.  Praise God!

Additionally, God has created us, redeemed us, called us out by name, and numbered the hairs on our head.  God has promised to be our God and the God of our descendants.  In addition, in an amazing act of extravagance God has given to us zebras and gnats, peaches and chocolate, oceans and deserts, magnolias and clover, crickets and alligators.

Faith Talk Questions:

Sit beside your child, let her hold the book and turn the pages.  Ask her to tell you what she hears on the first page, as she describes what she hears, point to the objects “making the sound;” read the first page following the words with your fingers; let her follow the words with her finger.  (Cup her hand in yours and follow along together.)  Repeat this process on each page.   Talk about all the sounds you “hear” in the story.  Are they soft or loud, pleasant or harsh, scary or happy?  Try making the different sounds together.  Try drawing the different sounds.  Make a “listening journal.”  Go outside and take a listening walk, noting or drawing all the different sounds you hear in your “listening journal.”  As you walk around outside, consider using all of your senses—look at the colors, listen to the birds and insects, taste and smell the fragrances, feel the warmth of the summer sun or the cool of the fall breeze or the cold of the winter air.  Talk about all the ways creation sings, hums, calls, clicks, scratches, etc. its prayers of praise to God.  Write, color, paint, paste and glue your prayers of praise.

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Kim Lee