When Max, a Scottish terrier, takes his usual morning trot to the loch one day, he hears a mysterious Voice humming in the reeds. "Come to Me," it says, "follow the fire cloud." He embarks on a strange journey from Scotland, meeting other animals along the way including Liz, a brilliant petite black cat from France. Max and Liz become the brave leaders for their group. The mysterious journey leads them across Europe to the Middle East, and is filled with danger, humor, trials, and triumphs. At the end of their travels, they find Noah and his family enduring ridicule from villagers while building an ark.
The moment these animals enter the ark is a spectacular one as the ark is magically transformed into the animals' natural habitats. As they enter their stalls, ice forms on the walls for the polar bears, a desert climate emerges for the kangaroos, a rainforest develops for the monkeys, and a waterfall flows from a rock where the crocodiles and tropical birds dwell. During the year aboard the ark, Liz finds ways to keep the animals occupied, including daily exercise led by the flamingos and talent night where the animals entertain each other with their natural abilities. But a sinister plot develops. Someone is out to kill Noah and his family. Liz follows clues that lead her to discover a stowaway who has deceived them all. Max and Liz foil the plot, but at a high price. Filled with unexpected twists and turns, readers find themselves wavering between despair to hope.
The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz is a magical fiction series that takes Max and Liz through biblical to modern times, causing amazing things to happen behind the scenes in human history. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Jenny L. Cote developed an early passion for God, history and young people, and beautifully blends these passions together in her new fantasy fiction series,
The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz. The series will take heroes Max and Liz through pivotal points in Biblical and world history. Jenny is currently writing book two,
The Dreamer, The Schemer and The Robe, about Joseph. She also is researching for book four,
The Voice, The Revolution and the Jewel, where Max and Liz will help Patrick Henry and the Marquis de Lafayette with the Revolutionary War.
Jenny’s first book, Now I Sea! (2003) is an inspirational book of sea stories and spiritual reflections. Her education and career have focused on strategic planning and marketing in healthcare and church work. She now writes and speaks full time and lives in Roswell, Georgia, with her husband Casey, son Alex, and of course, the REAL Max and Liz. She is active in student ministry at Dunwoody Baptist Church. Jenny enjoys reading, research, museums, humorous satire, travel, meeting new people, fitness and finding any excuse she can to get to the beach: “What?! A poor, lost sand crab is stuck on a piling? Never fear, help is on the way—I’ll be right there!”
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
8 of 8 Reviews Showing:
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Christy (Thomasville, Ga.), September 07, 2009
This is a great book with suspense and a lot of fun. It shows God's amazing power and is great for all ages.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Marlaina (California), August 08, 2009
My eight year old son LOVED this book, he absolutely couldn't put it down. Some reviewers (adults) thought this book might be a tad long for young readers, however my son read this in 5 days and when he finished he asked, " Why did the book have to be so short?".
I agree that some biblical facts have suffered poetic license, but I too enjoyed reading about these sweet, comical creatures!
3.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Libby (Bentonville, AR), July 16, 2009
I have to agree with Jennifer's review. A cute story about animals traveling to the ark, but the facts relating to after the ark landed were "skimmed through" you might say. I did enjoy the book, but I definitely think the ending could have been better. As a "read-a-holic", though few, I always admire books that have a real ending. Endings that don't always turn out the way readers desire them to. I am not criticizing the book, only pointing out that it did not have a "real" ending. Libby, 14
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jennifer @ Quiverfullfamily.com (Canada), June 14, 2009
Though Cote’s unique retelling is light-hearted and fun-filled, God’s glory, honour and righteousness are always front and center, contrasted with the lies, deceit and self-interest of the enemy who makes his presence felt upon the ark. The importance of a personal relationship with God is illustrated through Max’s need to set himself aside and full rely on his maker.
A full-length novel at 476 pages, this series debut seemed longer than the plot warranted. Though I succeeded in reading through the work aloud to my young ones - and they were duly entertained by the comical carousing of Al, the plump orange tabby, throughout - I wonder if many readers in the targeted age range of 9 – 12-years-old will make it through. A huge amount of character development, background and detail was included that seems to only puff up the page count rather than truly contributing to the storyline.
Though a generally enjoyable read, I was disappointed to find several of the doctrinally important occurrences following the landing of the ark rewritten to be ‘pet-friendly’. The sacrifice made by Noah and his family, resulting in God’s pleasure and his promise of the rainbow is glossed over, and God’s ensuing promise and new commands for life in this post-flood world are entirely rewritten and inaccurate as well.
From an author who claims to “stay true to the facts and events that God gave in His word, and the facts known from eyewitness accounts in history” I find this deeply disappointing. I truly enjoy Biblical fiction, but firmly believe that the basic facts as laid out in scripture should be clearly incorporated within storylines to avoid confusion - particularly in writings for young children. As a result of this omission of facts that could have been easily included in the story, I’m unable to recommendThe Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud to potential readers. Perhaps future installments will provide more in step with scripture.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Carol G (Raleigh, NC), June 14, 2009
It is a wonderful adventure story that looks at an familiar event (at least to most of us) from a different perspective -- how did Noah get all the animals on board? Did he go after them? Maybe, but not in this story -- God called to 2 of every kind from all over the earth and they journeyed to Noah and arrived just in time.
I hadn't thought about it before, but how did the animals from different climiates survive being on the ark, let alone the journey?
I'm a children's librarian and can't wait to both use this as a read-aloud and to recommend to my older students.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Liana Metal (Greece), December 22, 2008
Jenny L.Cote has a passion for God, History and young people. She lives in Roswell, Georgia, where she writes full time.
The Ark, the Reed and the Fire Cloud is an enjoyable story about Noah’s Ark. Actually, the innovative aspect is that this story is retold from a unique perspective; via the adventures of a dog, Max, who is called by the Voice to follow the red cloud and fulfill his own destiny. What is going to happen to him on the way to the Ark? Max feels lonely but soon he comes across a lot of new friends that he will protect during their long journey to the other side of the earth.
The author manages to retell this old Bible story from a fresh point of view. The language is simple for all children to follow and the cover is very attractive. In this book the kids meet all kinds of animals from all parts of the world, and it is humorous at times, sad or exciting to read about all the details Jenny provides her young readers with. This book caters to young readers, age 8-12, but it is also suitable for everyone in the family as it is entertaining and educational. It is a good read for schools and reading groups as it provides input to talk about and encourages readers to see old biblical stories in a new light.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin (Grove City), November 30, 2008
This is a clever and imaginative tale based on the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark. Thousands of animals come to Noah from all parts of the world, called by the Maker to follow the fire cloud, a bright cloud in the sky. The animals reach the ark safely, after many trials, but things still don’t go smoothly. How conflicts are resolved is both amusing and thought-provoking.
We start the story with Max, a dog, who is traveling alone. He soon meets Al, a cat. They are joined by a pair of gulls, another cat, etc. Much of the first part of the story is about their adventures and exploits, but we are then introduced to other characters. Max, and a cat named Liz, become leaders of all the animals.
Many of the animals have quirks – A dog afraid of water; a giraffe afraid of heights; a horse that “runs in his sleep”; a rhino with “anger management” issues; etc. And each animal has its own personality.
The animals come from many countries and speak many languages. They interject phrases from their own countries into the dialogue. The reader is treated to bits of Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, and Russian, among others. This enhances the
storyline and educates the reader.
There is much good to be said about this story, but there are also some other things that should be mentioned. First, there is a discrepancy in the story line. At one point in the story, Al removes the seed bag he carries and lays it on the ground. Seconds later, he is sent crashing down a mountainside during an avalanche. There is no mention of his ever picking the bag back up, but it shows up later in the story with no explanation as to how it got there. There are also a few typos in the text. And, there are places where the writing would benefit from a bit of editing.
All in all, it’s a good story, laced with lessons about obeying God and doing what’s right. It’s also a story about friendship, forgiveness and tolerance.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Cecil Stokes (Charlotte, NC), October 24, 2008
Fantastic read for all ages. The creativity of this author is nothing short of amazing. What a great way to learn about history and the Bible. A must read!
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