I come from a long line of storytellers in my family. Grandma Arilla, Mama Jeanne, and Auntie Marge spent years teaching ChildrenÕs Church and Sunday School. So, IÕm fairly sure that IÕve heard most of the stories from the Bible. When I was in high school, I illustrated those stories as my mother told them in ChildrenÕs Church. Every kid wanted to win the drawing at the end of the service.
I added a little of my humor to JonahÕs tale. The Bible says nothing about Jonah hating fish, but I merely suggested it would be funny if that was the case. (In truth, that part was more my feelings about fishing than JonahÕs.) The Bible does speak about Jonah not being happy about GodÕs love and grace for the Assyrians. It goes into a lot of detail. As I read it, I thought, ÒAre you kidding me? How can anyone complain about that?Ó Then, I realized that there was a kidÕs book just waiting for me to write and illustrate.
The prophet Jonah lived somewhere around 750 B.C. The Bible never really says if he changed his mind about the Assyrians. But, in Mosul, Iraq, (present day Nineveh), the grave of Jonah was a sacred site for centuries. So, it appears that he stayed there for the rest of his life. IÕm hopeful that he grew to love the people. The grave and the mosque covering it were destroyed by ISIS in 2014.