The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. Fiona Waters, reteller. Illustrated by Christopher Corr. Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books, 2002. 93 pp., cloth, $29.95. ISBN 1-55192-654-7. Grades 4-7 / Ages 9-12. Review Julie Hunt. **** /4

excerpt:

Sheherezade's life depended on the stories she could weave for her husband, the king. Each night she spun a wonderful tale for him and every morning at sunup she would leave him hanging at the most suspenseful part. He would be desperate to hear the conclusion that evening and so Sheherezade would preserve her life for another day.

For one thousand nights, O, Noble King, I have regaled you with my tales. I have made you laugh, I have made you gasp with wonder and I have made you cry with sadness at the foolishness of men. I have sent you traveling on magic carpets to fabled lands. I have wafted the air with exotic smells of spices and blossom as my stories took you through busy bazaars and peaceful gardens. I have filled your sleep with myriad dreams of djinns and magic lamps and great horses flying through the sky. And as the stars have faded from the lightening sky over the minarets of this palace you have given me another day to live. Now I have no more stories left to tell.

Fiona Waters regales readers just as Sheherezade does the king. Her words are richly detailed, and the eleven stories she retells are full of action, intrigue and magic. The daring exploits and subtle humour will appear to older children, and, with villains quick to use their swords, they are suited to a more mature audience. Well-known stories such as “Sinbad” and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” are interspersed with lesser known ones such as the “Man Who Stole the Dish of Gold.” “The Half Lie” is one of the humorous tales in which a servant is bought for a pittance because he tells one lie a year. His new owner soon finds out what havoc even a "half lie" creates. Illustrations by Christopher Corr appear on every page with vibrant pink, yellow, orange and blue tones. While students I surveyed were not particularly drawn to these pictures, they agreed that they added a Persian flair that enriched the exotic tone set by Waters.

     The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights is well suited for reading aloud with intermediate students. After sharing tales from this book with children in grade five, I had many requests for it and a rekindled interest in these classic stories. This well-written and enticing book will pique the senses and stimulate the imagination. It will make an excellent addition to children's libraries.

Highly Recommended.

Julie Hunt is a teacher-librarian in West Vancouver, BC.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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