Noah's Ark: The Brick Bible for Kids Paperback – January 6, 2015

From some of the more negative reviews I was bracing for a slightly darker, more overtly critical telling of the story, but what I got was very neutral in tone just telling the basic facts of the Noah story as written in Genesis in very simple English, minus some of the more grim details. It's fairly age-appropriate for beginning readers, with very toned down depictions of the people of Earth behaving "badly" (no blood or nudity) people floating comically helplessly as the flood waters rise, a few skeletons left behind when the flood waters recede, and mention of Noah building an alter to make a sacrifice in the end, however unlike the Bible (Genesis 8:20 And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar) this book just claims an "offering" and depicts a single goat being sacrificed. There is no "Lego depiction of rape, blood, and sexual scenes" in this toned down children's book. Anyone finding it offensive on it's own merits and not on the professed non-belief of it's author must be terribly offended by the Holy Bible itself or just mad that so many gory details were spared that it doesn't drive home the message enough.The best part of this version of Noah's Ark (besides the LEGOs) is that the book itself does not try to preach a particular moral lesson beyond the biblical account. This leaves parents room to start a conversation with their child about the things the characters did and help them understand it on their own terms. If you're worried seeing all the LEGO people drowning or a goat being burnt at an altar will cause your child to ask questions about God or the Bible you're not ready to answer you had better study this stuff and get your own thoughts in order before your child is old enough to pick up a King James and read the source material for themselves!

“Noah’s Ark” is the G-rated, kid-friendly and extended-play version of the story featured in illustrator Branden Powell Smith’s “The Brick Bible: The Complete Set.” That large-format work has many story panels per page, a complex narrative, and small type. In contrast, given the 3-6 years age range, the 32-page “Brick Bible for Kids” has double-page spreads of full-color bleeds with large, easy-to-read words and type. Two pages depict death – as the Ark-less people drown, and again as skeletons when the waters recede. Both images are small parts of a larger life-affirming frame, and so the shock value is muted. Smith also keeps a lid on the nudity, sexual content, violence and cursing that marks his original Brick Bible.“Noah’s Ark” is Smith’s most visually stunning and elegantly constructed work of the entire Brick Bible for Kids collection (we own 6 including The Christmas Story, Jonah and the Whale, Daniel in the Lions' Den, David and Goliath, and Joseph and the Colorful Coat). He builds large, detailed LEGO scenes of Noah’s family gathering the animals and provisions for the journey and loading the ark (see pix.). It’s a pictorial project that is perfectly suited to the LEGO style. The rainbow on that last page – composed of blocks in the Roy G Biv sequence – is a masterful coda to this remarkable work.

Helpful for teaching

Every child should have this book. My granchildren love it so much they request it every night. Wonderfully illustrated! Though slightly controversial, Brendan Smith tastefully uses Lego Bricks to accurately convey in a way that children can both relate and appreciate.

Uh. I don’t really think this is a great way to tell kids about the Ark. I love the pictures but it’s just not portrayed in a kid-like manner. ESP talking about the people were bad so God drowned them…idk. Just feel like we could have not been so harsh…? Maybe. These are kids after all.

If your kids like Legos, they will enjoy Bible stories from this illustrated book. There are the New Testament, Old Testament, and several others, including "The Christmas Story".

cute lego book with bible story. big hit with my kids.

I bought this for my 3 yr. old grandson because the older children (5 of them) all super enjoyed the Lego Old & New Testament books. This way he had a book for his level and yet it was still a story from the Bible. I watched him intently look at the pictures so that was a good enough reward for me!