The Friends of Abu Ali: Three More Tales of the Middle East

by Dorothy O. Van Woerkom, Harold Berson (Illustrator)

Retells three more adventures of muddle-headed Abu Ali, including: The Bag of Rice / Cake for Sale / The Donkey's Shadow.

64 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1978

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following upon her initial collection of Abu Ali stories for beginning readers, Abu Ali: Three Tales of the Middle East , Dorothy O. Van Woerkom returns to the hilarious (mis)adventures of this would-be trickster in The Friends of Abu Ali. Here, in The Bag of Rice, our hero resolves a dispute about an imaginary bridge and some imaginary donkeys, by throwing away his (real-life) food! In Cake for Sale, Abu Ali and his friend Hamid argue about whether or not the act of smelling caused a cake to fall in, while being baked. And finally, in The Donkey's Shadow, an argument about the ability to buy (or sell) a donkey's shadow develops between Abu Ali and his friend Nouri.

Although full of arguments, and attempts at trickery, the tales of Abu Ali and his friends are essentially good-hearted, with misunderstandings beings worked out to everyone's satisfaction at the end. Young folklore lovers will enjoy this collection, which will win more than one giggle. The accompanying illustrations, by Harold Berson, are done in both color and black and white, and add to the sense of fun.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retelling these Turkish tales in an easy reader format is a good idea. Unfortunately, the conclusions are weak - they fall flat.

[Nancy O'Toole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Friends of Abu Ali collect three folk tales from the Middle East starting Abu Ali and his two closest friends. This collection starts with “A Bag of Rice” which tells of Abu Ali borrowing rice from his friends, and the humorous results. In “Cake for Sale,” Abu Ali and Hamid make a cake together. In “The Donkey's Shadow” Abu Ali and Nouri take a trip on the back of a Donkey. All three tales are illustrated by Harold Berson, who's wispy style of art changes back and forth from full color to black and white. One can appreciate his obvious attempts to maintain cultural authenticity. The stories themselves are mostly humorous with small lessons worked in. Although characters may bicker, the stories are for the most part positive portrayals of friendship with happy endings. The bare bones easy reader format results in disappointingly little explanation of original tales, or the reasons why the author has chosen to retell them. This lighthearted little book could be a great source for spring-boarding a child's interest in Middle Eastern culture, but the fact that it is not out of print makes if difficult for children to obtain

[Chanin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another set of silly stories. The kids laugh and giggle. Abu Ali really is crazy. I'm sad these aren't in print any more. We have to put our name on the list for months to get them. I guess I need to break down and buy them off alibris.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will revisit this book when my three year old is older so she can understand the stories better.