NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD

The basic story is retold by Gerstein (Victor, p. 1117, etc.), with extraordinary details: Noah was 498 years old when he married and had his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth; he lived among cruel, greedy, violent giants whom God views with pained regret; for 120 years, Noah tries, at God’s request, to change his neighbors’ ways, to no avail. With the help from an angel, Noah builds an ark and gathers his fold, including the unknown creatures urshanas, ogs, and rayeems, and so the story is played out. Gerstein’s fusion of a variety of sources for the story gives it a richness; although for the picture-book audience, the details will be extraneous, there is no denying their value as curiosities, and as welcome springboards to discussion. (Picture book. 5-10)