Martin, P: Story of Jonah

I come from a long line of storytellers in my family. Grandma Arilla, Mama Jeanne, and Auntie Marge spent years teaching Children's Church and Sunday School. So, I'm fairly sure that I've heard most of the stories from the Bible. When I was in high school, I illustrated those stories as my mother told them in Children's Church. Every kid wanted to win the drawing at the end of the service.

I added a little of my humor to Jonah's 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 Jonah's.) The Bible does speak about Jonah not being happy about God's love and grace for the Assyrians. It goes into a lot of detail. As I read it, I thought, "Are you kidding me? How can anyone complain about that?" Then, I realized that there was a kid's 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. I'm hopeful that he grew to love the people. The grave and the mosque covering it were destroyed by ISIS in 2014.