Noa: A Story of Courage 

• Author: Jasmine Lawi
• Genre: Children’s Folklore/Fairytales
• Publication Date: June 17, 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published

Thank you to Jasmine Lawi for sending me a copy of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.

Noa (a biblical heroine) is a role model for men and women across the ages. 

This is a picture book that will be cherished by children, parents, and educators who strive to find modern relevance in ancient legends.

Noa had four sisters. One day, Noa’s father, Zelophehad, went to Heaven to join God, and Noa’s uncles coveted Zelophehad’s castle in the new Land of Israel. They foolishly believed that only men can own castles.

This is a tale of Noa’s bravery and perseverance in the face of injustice, and the lessons that we can learn from her bravery today.

Let me start out by saying that I haven’t reviewed a children’s book on my blog before, so go easy on me since this is my first time. Some authors just write books and I eagerly read them when they come out, and some authors are really responsive on social media and have become social media friends. Jasmine is one of the latter, so when she sent me a copy of her new book, I read my first children’s book in a while so I could review it.

This is a short book, so it doesn’t take too long to read. In fact, it took me longer to figure out how to pronounce Zelophehad, and I’m still not sure that I’m pronouncing it correctly. It tells the Hebrew biblical tale of Noa and her fight against injustice in a fun and creative way. I actually wasn’t familiar with this story, and looked further into it after reading, and it is explained a bit more on some sites, but it’s all basically the same. There are a few creative exceptions taken (I don’t know for sure that the castle was purple), but the bones of the story are all the same.

To start with, the first thing that I noticed was the beautiful artwork, done by Denis Alonso. The illustrations are gorgeous, brightly colored and adorable, and I loved looking at all of them as I read through the book. I think the drawings were one of my favorite parts of the book.

At heart, this is a story about female empowerment, and not staying quiet in the face of injustice. Noa saw an injustice happening, and she and her sisters stood up against it. Although I’m used to books that are much more in depth, this one did a great job of relaying a biblical story in a way that will engage young readers, and I certainly plan on passing this one down to my great-niece, who loves reading and will definitely enjoy this one.

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