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.
"The tale of the two brothers and their journeys is illustrated
with jewel-toned, delicate paintings featuring the costumes, tools,
buildings, and animals of the Moslem East. ... The two brothers do
not represent good and evil as happens so often in Western tales,
but instead merely the choice of two different paths." - School
Library Journal (U.S.)
"... beautifully illustrated by Julie Freeman, who perfectly
captures the magic of this ancient Sufi folk tale." - Midwest Book
Review (U.S.)
"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.)
"... a series of children's books that have captivated the hearts
and minds of people from all walks of life. The books are tales
from a rich tradition of story telling from Central Asia and the
Middle East. Stories told and retold to children, by campfire and
candlelight, for more than a thousand years." - NEA Today: The
Magazine of the National Education Association (U.S.)
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