Bilingual Bible Story: Noah’s Ark Books in Chinese and English
Noah’s Ark is a Bible story that we’ve read with our children over and over again. Today, I’m featuring Caldecott award-winning Noah’s Ark books in Chinese and English!
Generally, my husband reads with our kids in English, while I read in Mandarin Chinese. The amazingly detailed illustrations encourage observation and reflection about biblical events bilingually.
Read this: The Best Children’s Bibles and Devotions in Chinese, Korean, and English
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The story of Noah’s Ark
Noah is introduced in the book of Genesis as the person chosen by God to perpetuate the human race after the Flood. When God was troubled by the corruption of the human race, he warned Noah and instructed him to build an ark, promising to save his family and the animals.
We have Noah’s Ark in various languages; this gives my children a chance to compare illustrations, interpretations, and drawing styles.
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Bilingual Noah’s Ark Books in Chinese and English
1. 《诺亚方舟》 Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier
A few years ago, this was the first Noah’s Ark book we got, and everyone in our family loved it.
Since the text is sparse, I don’t think it matters what language to get the book. Peter Spier’s drawings vividly depict the reality of Noah and his family’s preparations for the flood with thousands of animals.
Due to the minimal words, as shown in the above images, the focus is on observation, interpretation, and discussion of images. We ask our children what they think is happening on each page and why God made these decisions.
For younger children, we also discuss more basic information, like which animals they see and what the weather is like.
For example, when my 3-year-old son flips through the book with his 6-year-old sister, I’ve overheard him share things like “好像现在是晚上 (Hǎoxiàng xiànzài shì wǎnshàng / Seems like it’s nighttime now).”
Because no text is present to confirm their findings, they discuss why purely through observation. This also helps improve their English and Chinese speaking skills.
- Where to buy
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- English
Related: People by Peter Spier – Book Review and 人 Chinese Character Learning
2. 《诺亚方舟》Noah’s Ark by Jerry Pinkney
I recently discovered that Luka Reading Robot could narrate this book in fluent Mandarin Chinese, so I got this to improve our Bible vocabulary.
Compared to Peter Spier’s relatively cleaner and modern illustrations, Jerry Pinkey’s illustrations are more dramatic and remind me of famous ancient paintings.
The downside of our bilingual Noah’s Ark book is the tiny Chinese text – the font is smaller than the English words. Due to the busy background, many Chinese characters are difficult for my near-sighted eyes to see.
- Where to buy
- Simplified Chinese
- English
- Audio narration: Luka Reading Robot
Explore this: How I Taught My Child 1000 Chinese Characters as a Non-Fluent Speaker
Have you read these Noah’s Ark books with your children or students?
If you read these Noah’s Ark books, please share in the comments below! Please also share other favorite bilingual Christian books that we should check out!
We’d love to learn about your experience in the comments!
