Tenggren's Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights

Rating:
Summary: I'm glad it's back!
Review: I am delighted to see that this classic of my childhood has been reissued. This selection of stories from the 1001 Arabian Nights is a delightful introduction to the famous compilation, and the brilliant illustrations are lyrical and evocative of the cultures of the Middle East in medieval times. Some of the tales are familiar (the stories of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad, for example), others may be unknown to most young people (the story of the Serpent Queen), but all are nicely retold by Gustaf Tenggren to appeal to children between the ages of 7 and 12.

Rating:
Summary: Gustaf Tenggren illustrates 10 tales from the Arabian Nights
Review: In the introduction to "Tenggren's Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights: The Most Famous Stories from the Great Classic A Thousand and One Nights" we learn that the stories of the "Arabian Night" can be traced to three different cultures: Arabic, Persian, and Indian. I suppose I had always known that these stories were written by many different authors, passed down orally until they were collected and written down in the Arabic language centuries ago, but I had never really thought of them as representing a variety of Eastern cultures (e.g., in this version Aladdin lives in a great city in China, while "The Serpent Queen" is set in ancient Greece).

This particular collection includes only ten of the hundreds of stories collected in the "Arabian Nights," all of which were selected because of their particular appeal to children. This includes three of the most famous of these stories with "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp," "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," and "Sinbad the Sailor," as well as the framing story of "Scheherazade." It is that story about the stories is one of the best examples of the magic of storytelling, not only because it can help keep us alive in the morning but because it transports us to different times and places.

What I found most interesting in this collection, of course, were the tales I had not heard before. Some stories are brief and simple humorous tales, such as "The Caliph and the Cucumbers," while others are more involved and make a point, such as "The Magic Horse," in which a greedy king is taught a lesson and the eternal problem of in-laws is solved. Most young readers will have read a story like "The Fisherman and the Afreet," but will find this one has an interesting twist. The fact that some of these stories are essentially humorous, such as "The Sleeper Awakened," might surprise them, but I like the ones that offer deep insights into the human condition, such as "The Man Who Never Laughed," where we learn that sorrow can give a life meaning. The last story, "The Poor Man's Dream," is probably my favorite, because of the simple point it makes about following dreams (even if they belong to somebody else), and I think most readers will find a couple of new favorites in this exquisite little collection.

These ten stories are retold by Margaret Soifer and Irwin Shaprio, with an introduction by Mary Pope Osborne. The title comes from the illustrator of these stories, Gustaf Tenggren, who came from Sweden and not only illustrated classic Golden Books such as "The Saggy Baggy Elephant" and "The Poky Little Puppy," but treasuries such as "The Cantebury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer" and "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table," as well as providing concept art for the Walt Disney films "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio," which is a rather impressive resume. This book was originally published in 1957 and neither the art nor the storytelling have suffered any by the passage of time.

Rating:
Summary: Gustaf Tenggren illustrates 10 tales from the Arabian Nights
Review: In the introduction to "Tenggren's Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights: The Most Famous Stories from the Great Classic A Thousand and One Nights" we learn that the stories of the "Arabian Night" can be traced to three different cultures: Arabic, Persian, and Indian. I suppose I had always known that these stories were written by many different authors, passed down orally until they were collected and written down in the Arabic language centuries ago, but I had never really thought of them as representing a variety of Eastern cultures (e.g., in this version Aladdin lives in a great city in China, while "The Serpent Queen" is set in ancient Greece).

This particular collection includes only ten of the hundreds of stories collected in the "Arabian Nights," all of which were selected because of their particular appeal to children. This includes three of the most famous of these stories with "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp," "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," and "Sinbad the Sailor," as well as the framing story of "Scheherazade." It is that story about the stories is one of the best examples of the magic of storytelling, not only because it can help keep us alive in the morning but because it transports us to different times and places.

What I found most interesting in this collection, of course, were the tales I had not heard before. Some stories are brief and simple humorous tales, such as "The Caliph and the Cucumbers," while others are more involved and make a point, such as "The Magic Horse," in which a greedy king is taught a lesson and the eternal problem of in-laws is solved. Most young readers will have read a story like "The Fisherman and the Afreet," but will find this one has an interesting twist. The fact that some of these stories are essentially humorous, such as "The Sleeper Awakened," might surprise them, but I like the ones that offer deep insights into the human condition, such as "The Man Who Never Laughed," where we learn that sorrow can give a life meaning. The last story, "The Poor Man's Dream," is probably my favorite, because of the simple point it makes about following dreams (even if they belong to somebody else), and I think most readers will find a couple of new favorites in this exquisite little collection.

These ten stories are retold by Margaret Soifer and Irwin Shaprio, with an introduction by Mary Pope Osborne. The title comes from the illustrator of these stories, Gustaf Tenggren, who came from Sweden and not only illustrated classic Golden Books such as "The Saggy Baggy Elephant" and "The Poky Little Puppy," but treasuries such as "The Cantebury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer" and "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table," as well as providing concept art for the Walt Disney films "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio," which is a rather impressive resume. This book was originally published in 1957 and neither the art nor the storytelling have suffered any by the passage of time.

Rating:
Summary: Know Thy Enemy
Review: Stories from Baghdad? Tales of Arabia (Saudi or not)? Knowing the stories that shape the lives of children half a world away where our military presence is affecting daily life so heavily might be good for our own children. It's a lot harder to vilify an enemy whose traditional stories live in your heart, I think. Not cute, not spiffed up (like the Disney version of Aladdin), these are PG-rated versions of the 1957 Tenggren Golden book edition. Included are Scheherazade, aladdin, Ali Baba, The Caliph and the Cucumbers, the Magic Horse, The Fisherman and the Afreet, Sleeper Awakened, Sinbad the Sailor, the Man Who never Laughed, The Serpent Queen and the Poor Man's Dream

Rating:
Summary: The most famous stories taken from the classic
Review: The collaborative effort of Margaret Soifer and Irwin Shapiro and recommended for school and community library Folklore/Fairytale collections, Tenggren's Golden Tales From The Arabian Nights is a folklore picture book presenting the most famous stories taken from the classic "A Thousand And One Nights". Filled with excitement, danger, and wonder, this entertaining anthology with stylized color illustrations by the late Gustaf Tenggren (1896-1970) is especially recommended to young folks with good reading comprehension skills.