Make a Jonah and the Great Fish Story for Kids
Jonah is the rare Bible story for children whose main character spends most of it running in the wrong direction. Readkidz writes and illustrates a complete Jonah and the great fish retelling where the three days inside the fish become the still, quiet middle the story needs, and the second chance is where it lands.
Made with Readkidz
Three pages from “Jonah and the Great Fish: A Second Chance.” Inside the fish is deliberately calm — it is the only place in the book where Jonah stops moving.
How it works
- 1Decide how big the storm gets
The storm is the loudest part and the easiest to overdo. Ask for weather that is frightening but survivable if your reader is small, or a genuine tempest if they enjoy the drama — the pacing of three or four spreads depends on it.
- 2Use the fish as the quiet part
Not a monster, and not a joke: the inside of the fish is where the noise stops and Jonah finally thinks. Describe it as dark and still rather than gruesome, and it becomes the turning point instead of the scary bit.
- 3Choose whether to go past Nineveh
Most children's versions stop when Jonah arrives and does what he was asked. The book of Jonah keeps going — he sulks, and there is a plant. Including it makes a subtler book for older readers; leaving it out makes a cleaner one for young ones.
Is this what you were looking for?
- What you get
- 10 illustrated pages plus a cover
- Written for
- Ages 4-8
- How long
- One sitting — not weeks
- Rights
- Retelling for children — not a substitute for the text
Frequently asked questions
Is the fish frightening?
Not in the default treatment. It is drawn large, dim and calm rather than toothy, because the point of those pages is stillness. If your child would rather have a dramatic swallowing scene, ask for it — but the three days inside work best quiet.
Whale or fish?
The text says a great fish, and the sample follows it. Children often expect a whale from picture-book convention, so either is fine — just say which, or you may get one and expect the other.
How faithful is it to the text?
It follows the sequence — the instruction, the ship, the storm, the sea, the fish, the second chance — in children's language. It is a retelling rather than a translation and does not present itself as a substitute for reading the book of Jonah.
Is the message that disobedience gets punished?
Only if you write it that way. The more common reading for children is the second chance: Jonah runs, and is still sent again. Say which emphasis you want, because the last two spreads are written toward it.
Can I read a full one first?
Yes. The link below opens all eleven pages of Jonah and the Great Fish: A Second Chance, including the caregiver notes and questions.
Will mine be the same book?
No. The source is shared; how loud the storm is, how the fish feels, whether Nineveh is the end, and what the story is for are all yours. No text is reused.
Make your Jonah and the great fish
Say how big the storm gets and how the fish should feel. Every page is illustrated in one sitting, with the cost shown up front.
This maker is for respectful, child-friendly creative adaptation and family discussion. It is not a theological authority or a substitute for Scripture, religious instruction, or a family’s preferred Bible translation. Generated wording must not be presented as a direct Bible quotation unless independently verified.