Idries Shah spent much of his life collecting and publishing Sufi classical narratives and teaching stories from oral and written sources in the Middle East and Central Asia. The tales he retold especially for children are published by Hoopoe Books in beautifully illustrated editions and have been widely commended - by Western educators and psychologists, the U.S. Library of Congress, National Public Radio and other media - for their unique ability to foster social-emotional development, thinking skills and perception in children and adults alike. Told for centuries, these stories express universal themes from the cultures that produced them, showing how much we have in common and can learn from each other. As noted by reviewers, such stories are more than just entertaining; familiarity with them provokes flexibility of thought, since each one contains levels of meaning that unfold in accordance with an individual's experience and understanding.
"... a satisfying bedtime story that will encourage pleasant dreams
to drift into little ears." - Booklist (U.S.)
"... a young boy seeks and eventually finds his own name and is
able to discard an old dream for a new and wonderful one. Highly
recommended for personal, school and community library picturebook
collections, The Boy Without a Name is an entertaining and
thoughtful Sufi folktale which is wonderfully recounted by Idries
Shah and marvellously illustrated with watercolor paintings by Mona
Caron." - Midwest Book Review (U.S.)
"... one of three recent titles in the beautifully illustrated
award-winning series of picture books by Idries Shah. ... Among the
many insights that this story introduces to children is the idea
that it takes patience and resolve to achieve one's goals in life."
- Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature
"These teaching stories can be experienced on many levels. A child
may simply enjoy hearing them; an adult may analyze them in a more
sophisticated way. Both may eventually benefit from the lessons
within." - "All Things Considered," National Public Radio
(U.S.)
"They [teaching stories] suggest ways of looking at difficulties
that can help children solve problems calmly while, at the same
time, giving them fresh perspectives on these difficulties that
help them develop their cognitive abilities" - psychologist Robert
Ornstein, Ph.D., in his lecture "Teaching Stories and the Brain"
given at the U.S. Library of Congress
"Through repeated readings, these stories provoke fresh insight and
more flexible thought in children. Beautifully illustrated." - NEA
Today: The Magazine of the National Education Association
(U.S.)
"Shah's versatile and multilayered tales provoke fresh insight and
more flexible thought in children." - Bookbird: A Journal of
International Children's Literature
"These stories ... are not moralistic fables or parables, which aim
to indoctrinate, nor are they written only to amuse. Rather, they
are carefully designed to show effective ways of defining and
responding to common life experiences." - Denise Nessel, Ph.D.,
Senior Consultant with the National Urban Alliance for Effective
Education (U.S.), writing in Library Media Connection: The
Professional Magazine for School Library Media Specialists
(U.S.)
"These enchanting stories Shah has collected have a richness and
depth not often encountered in children's literature, and their
effect on minds young and old can be almost magical." -
Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National
Association for Multicultural Education (U.S.)
"Shah has collected hundreds of Sufi tales, many of which are
teaching tales or instructional stories. In this tradition, the
line between stories for children and those for adults is not as
clear as it seems to be in Western cultures, and the lessons are
important for all generations." - School Library Journal (U.S.)
"... these are vibrant, engaging, universal stories...." -
Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National
Association for Multicultural Education (U.S.)
Ask a Question About this Product More... |