Review: Good Brother No (A Picture Book for Children)
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Book Description
If God came to you with a scary request, would you be like Brother No? Would you answer with a “yes?” Good Brother No retells the Genesis flood narrative in invigorating and relatable rhyme that all young readers can enjoy. Pastor Dave Oravec’s rendition of the Noah story is honest and hopeful. It’s a wonderful reminder of God’s love and what happens when people trust in God’s promises.
How I Came Across This Book
I like to begin my book reviews with how I came across the book to help address legal disclaimers. Good Brother No was given to me by the author in exchange for a review. He actually emailed me and asked me if I’d review it and I immediately wanted to say no. I don’t like to commit to reviews. I already have a few reviews I’m behind on posting or waiting to post when the book comes out and for some reason committing to a review just stresses me. So after the initial no I found out it was a kids book with a strong Christian theme and it was short so I said yes.
When my daughter was young and I was busy filling up our Kindles with free books, I used to run a site where I posted children’s book reviews almost daily and I’m a sucker for a well-made picture book. So when I caught a glimpse of Good Brother No’s illustrations I knew this was a book someone had taken their time with and put some love into.
What’s Inside
This is a biblical retelling of the account of Noah and the ark he built from the book of Genesis.
I found the illustrations of the animals somewhat modern for a biblical story, but that’s not something the intended audience would notice or even care about. Other than that, the illustrations are top-notch and detailed. As far as I can tell they’re accurate to the biblical account as well. You can clearly see Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives, and two of each kind of animal. (No mention is made of “clean” or “unclean” animals.)
The entire story is done in rhyme and it has a good rhythm to it, sort of Seuss-like. Noah’s name in the story is Good Brother No, but it’s stated that his full name is Noah.
During the ending where the rainbow is explained it points to Christ as a “new way” of redeeming the earth. I like how that was done. Most books on Noah’s ark don’t tie the ending into redemption in that way.
My Thoughts
Overall, the book was well done and if you’re looking for a solid Christian book to share with your children, I can recommend this one, written by pastor Dave Oravec. I’ve had a chance to review both the ebook version and the hardback and they’re both lovely.
About the Reviewer
Tattie Maggard is the founder and owner of Christian Book Finds, a website dedicated to helping readers find Christian book treasures and deals. She’s also the author of several Amish romances, a homeschooling mom, and an all around creative person. When she’s not searching for ebook bargains she’s in the kitchen concocting a new healthy recipe, spoiling her rescue dog, Pickles, or playing an old tune on the ukulele. You can check out her books on Amazon, Google, or other ebook retailers.
