Reviews

The Arabian Nights: Sixteen Stories from Sheherazade by

nancyotoole's review against another edition

4.0

Neil Philip's interpretation of The Arabian Nights selects fifteen tales from the classic collection of Arabian folktales and interprets them for a modern audience. Philip has included some of the best known tales such as “Aladdin” and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” as well as those that may be unfamiliar to those who are not well versed in Arabian folktales. Some of the unfamiliar tales will be easy for children to connect to, as they have elements in common with Western fairy tales (for example, “The Anklet” resembles the story of Cinderella). Each story, which can be anywhere from two to over twenty pages long is written in a language that can be easily understood by children. The author may have simplifies the language of some tales, but he makes sure to keep the original Arabic names for the character, giving the book an authentic feel. Each story is accompanied with illustrations by Sheila Moxley, which can take up an entire page or merely decorate the text. Each painting is filled with bright colors, and includes architecture, props, and costumes that depicts the time frame which these stories take place in. The book ends with a conclusion by Neil Philip that lists his sources, explains the methods for choosing his tales, and gives a good reason for omitting one of the most famous tales from Arabian Nights, “Sinbad the Sailor” (the story was too long for this collection).
Recommended Grade Level- Grades 1-3
Notes- The Arabian Nights is an example of multicultural literature
(This review was written for a class)