The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud

The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz, Book One

By: Jenny L. Cote

Narrated by: Denny Brownlee

Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Wit, Whimsy, Heartache, Tragedy, Triumph and Biblical Truth!

A magical adventure of animals traveling worldwide to Noah's ark. Max, a Scottish terrier, takes his usual morning trot down to the loch where he hears a mysterious Voice humming in the reeds saying, "Come to me...follow the fire cloud." He embarks on an unknown 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, and eventually, for the entire ark. The mysterious journey, filled with danger, humor, trials, and triumphs, leads them across Europe to the Middle East. The moment of arrival for these animals is spectacular as the ark is miraculously transformed into the animals' natural habitats. Throughout the prior one hundred years, Noah and family have to endure ridicule from villagers while building the ark. Now this family must painfully witness the loss of lives and total destruction of the earth through the mighty flood. After the journey to the ark, the voyage in the ark begins. 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. The end climaxes with unexpected twists and turns, taking the listener from despair to hope.

©2008 Jenny L. Cote (P)2008 Jenny L. Cote

Amazing!

I cannot say enough about the audible book for The Ark, The Reed, and The Firecloud.... but if I had to choose 1 word, it would be AMAZING! My children are so captivated by the story and the narrator! The voices!!!!! I could never do them justice as a read aloud. Our entire family gathers together to listen and inevitably we have to stop it because someone is laughing uncontrollably at the antics of seagulls or cats or.... you name it. Jenny has written such a beautiful story full of life lessons, fun and laughter, adventure and uncertainty, and hope. The Denny lends his amazing voice to make the story just leap to life! I'm so glad we took the leap for this lengthy book - we are not eagerly hoping for the next in the series!

Loved it!

We enjoyed the voices of the characters. I listened with my children and grandchildren.

Amazing

This book is amazing! We used it as a read aloud for my kids! We all felt as if we were in the story!

Absolutely love this!

I know this is a book for kids, but I could not stop listening to it! It’s a great story! If you love animals, you will absolutely love it. Its the story of how the animals all journey to Noah’s Ark and their time together on board. But, it’s so much more than that! It’s filled with so many life lessons and information about different animals, that it can be a great starting point of discussion with kids about so many things-faith, friendship, bravery, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of others, too many to mention. I also just learned this is the first in a series! I can’t wait to start the next one!

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars

Jenny Cote brings the biblical account of the flood and Noah’s ark to life through the eyes of the animals involved. She creates a masterful mix of humor and hope along with the eternal struggled between good and evil. Denny Brownlee’s voice and character talents are so amazing. He brings a depth of feeling to his production that makes you feel as if you are there in the story.

Entertaining, Biblical, and Educational!!

I would recommend for all ages! I enjoy listening or reading this series almost as much as my three daughters! You feel like you are there in the story.

My favorite part about these books is Liz & Max's personalities! - Joy, age 6
I enjoy the characters as well! Al always wants to eat! He makes me laugh. - Hope, age 7
The main characters are really exciting! The audiobook uses the best voices to tell the story. - Faith, age 9

Fun and Engaging

Jeni's booknarratedby Denny is amazing. I fell in love with the characters and was so impressed with the way the story was woven together and Denny's amazing talent with voices.

Read it twice in a week

My 10-year-old son enjoyed this story so much, he immediately read it twice. He then offered to buy the next one in the series with his own money. The Scottish accent sounds great in the audiobook!

Best family audiobook ever

Absolutely the very best family audiobook we've listened to together. The story itself is of great quality, wonderful, well thought out, intriguing, humorous, and yet tackles a serious subject in a child friendly way. Additionally the narrator really did an excellent job of bringing this authors book alive. My for children listened to this for hours at a time and begged for more. We will definitely be purchasing more books by this author and narrator. Highly recommended for homeschool families.

Wonderful!

My oldest son received this book years ago for his 20th birthday. He read it in a few days...hardly making time for anything else. We’ve gotten many more books written by Jenny Cotes since then. We’re thrilled that they’ve been made into an audio version! We’re already a few chapters in and are thoroughly impressed!