Genies, Meanies, and Magic Rings: Three Tales from the Arabian Nights

by Stephen Mitchell, Tom Pohrt (Illustrations)

Master storyteller Stephen Mitchell brings three of the best loved stories from The Arabian Nights to independent young readers ready for adventure. All richly illustrated with lustrous line drawings throughout, they are here for young readers to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves , Abu Keer and Abu Seer , and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp in its original setting of China. These stories will bring you to a whole new world; one where clever wit will save the day, thieves give chase with swords and spears, kings can kill with a glance, honesty is rewarded with a vast, unheard-of treasure.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2007

About the author

Stephen Mitchell was educated at Amherst College, the Sorbonne, and Yale University, and de-educated through intensive Zen practice. He is widely known for his ability to make old classics thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and to create versions that are definitive for our time. His many books include The Gospel According to Jesus, The Second Book of the Tao, two books of fiction, and a book of poetry.

Mitchell’s Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been called “the most beautiful group of poetic translations [the twentieth] century has produced.” William Arrowsmith said that his Sonnets to Orpheus “instantly makes every other rendering obsolete.” His Book of Job has been called “magnificent.” His bestselling Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, and Gilgamesh—which are not translations from the original text, but rather poetic interpretations that use existing translations into Western languages as their starting point—have also been highly praised by critics, scholars, and common readers. Gilgamesh was Editor’s Choice of The New York Times Book Review, was selected as the Book Sense 2004 Highlight for Poetry, was a finalist for the first annual Quill Award in poetry. His translation of the Iliad was chosen as one of the New Yorker’s favorite books of 2011. He is a two-time winner of the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.

His books for young readers include The Wishing Bone, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as the best book of poetry for children published in the United States in 2003, and Jesus: What He Really Said and Did, which was chosen by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of the top ten religious books for children in 2002.

He is also coauthor of two of his wife Byron Katie’s bestselling books: Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy. www.thework.com

You can read extensive excerpts from all his books on his website, www.stephenmitchellbooks.com.

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid adaptation of three of the more familiar tales from the ever changing array of collected Arabian Nights stories.

First is a brief adaptation of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The text is sparse, as one would expect for a tale originally shared orally, but the plot is conveyed well, even if the general narrative is a nice guy gets lucky and doesn't abuse his opportunity.

Second is the tale of Abu Keer and Abu Seer which might parallel a Grasshopper and Ant parable if it weren't more about generosity and hospitality than preparedness. You have one who is willing to succeed and share his success while the other only wants success for himself. One can guess how the tale turns out.

The final is an adaptation, truer to the original stories than the Disney version, of Aladdin. Oddly enough, the reflection I took from this narrative is that being clever and diligent only gets someone so far, one needs a significant advantage (birth or genie) to make it in this world.

All in all, a good light collection of some familiar stories for children to enjoy and parents won't mind reading it too, if only to remind themselves of the changes Disney made to original narratives, or that Ali Baba wasn't a thief...

[Alicia Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6 year old son loved these stories. They're a bit dark and somewhat repetitive (in each story there is a kind person who is taken advantage of by a terrible person and the terrible person meets a gruesome end). But he couldn't get enough.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. I liked the fisherman and Aladdin stories the most.

[Majella Pinto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for children.

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

North Americanized for the contemporary market. Interesting slant on todays fascination with lotteries. A few well placed simple illustrations. I appreciated the historical info in the Afterword

[Amy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5