McCaughrean, Geraldine. Not the end of the world.McCAUGHREAN, Geraldine. Not the end of the world. HarperTempest. 244p. c2004. 0-06076032-X. $6.99. JS* To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, July 2005: When I read the story of Noah's ark Noah’s Ark preserves Noah’s family and animals from flood. [O.T.: Genesis 6:7–9] See : Refuge to my son when he was little, his first question was: why did God destroy so many animals; were they bad too? This kind of skepticism is at the heart of McCaughrean's treatment of the famous story of the ark, the flood, the destruction of all living things Living Things may refer to:
The details of the care of the animals, the cold and damp conditions, the claustrophobia claustrophobia /claus·tro·pho·bia/ (-fo´be-ah) irrational fear of being shut in, of closed places. claus·tro·pho·bi·a n. An abnormal fear of being in narrow or enclosed spaces. , are described with McCaughrean's great skill. She develops the adult characters with the same care as the adolescents in the story (as she did in The Kite Rider). She has won awards for The Kite Rider and this story is equally marvelous. Religious fundamentalists who want to believe the story of Noah's ark as it is written in the Bible will squirm at McCaughrean's treatment; but the questions raised, as Timna struggles to understand the disaster happening all around her, trying to reconcile it with her saintly saint·ly adj. saint·li·er, saint·li·est Of, relating to, resembling, or befitting a saint. saint  li·ness n. father's certainty that he knows the will of God, are valid questions, which only reflect her intelligence and righteousness. Living as we do these days in a world awash Awash (ä`wäsh), river, E Ethiopia, rising near Addis Ababa and flowing c.500 mi (800 km) to a swampy lake near the Djibouti border. The Awash Valley is important agriculturally and has hydroelectric plants. with zealots Zealots (zĕl`əts), Jewish faction traced back to the revolt of the Maccabees (2d cent. B.C.). The name was first recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus as a designation for the Jewish resistance fighters of the war of A.D. 66–73. who are convinced (like Noah) that God wills the destruction of those judged ungodly, this story takes on a whole level of meaning relevant to our times. Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. *--The asterisk (1) See Asterisk PBX. (2) In programming, the asterisk or "star" symbol (*) means multiplication. For example, 10 * 7 means 10 multiplied by 7. The * is also a key on computer keypads for entering expressions using multiplication. highlights exceptional books. |
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