Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp

by Marianna Mayer (Editor), Gerald McDermott (Illustrator)

Retells the adventures of Aladdin who, with the help of a genie from a magic lamp, outwits an evil sorcerer and wins the hand of a beautiful princess.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Picture Books

80 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

Marianna Mayer is a children's book author and artist recognized for her beautifully written retellings of classic folk and fairy tales. Born in New York City, she began her artistic training early and studied at the Art Students League after a year of college. Her first book was published at the age of nineteen. Mayer has authored several acclaimed works, including Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, Pegasus, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses, often collaborating with renowned illustrators such as Kinuko Y. Craft and Michael Hague. She was previously married to illustrator Mercer Mayer.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like Mayer but this is the second one in a row that I found boring. I think she is better shorter. It can be problematic making fairy tales longer while staying close to the original (as opposed to an adaptation where the authors develops their own characters and twists) because at greater length it becomes more obvious how the characters are flat and motivations and behaviors don't make a lot of sense. Why is the sultan such an idiot, and why would he be marrying his daughter to some jerk if he actually loved her? Why does the villain hate Aladdin so? Why doesn't Aladdin buy his mother nice clothes and servants after he becomes rich? Can you really be pining to illness over love for someone you have only seen at a distance? At five pages these concerns are glossed over, but at 60 they become bothersome.

Do a lot of versions of this story have a kind lady being murdered violently so the bad guy can disguise himself as her? I don't remember reading this bit before.

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long ago, a poor tailor and his wife eked out a meager existence, struggling to bring up their only child -- an idle layabout named Aladdin. Years after his father dies, Aladdin encounters a Moroccan sorcerer who claims to be his father's long-lost brother. The sorcerer, having been given information from his mystical arts, knows he needs Aladdin to finally uncover a marvelous treasure that lies buried in the desert. Things go awry, and Aladdin finds himself trapped in the underground cavern, but with the help of a genie or two, his life turns a corner in a very big way.

So, I've finally made it to my favorite Disney movie in my Disney source material read-through. I realized as I read this book that I know (or knew) the original version of this story better than I thought, but also that I like a lot of the changes that more recent adaptations have made. This edition by Marianna Mayer was well-written, but overlong, and didn't seem to feature much of the detail or character development that you might expect for a longer telling. The story itself has a few distractions (the genie of the ring seems like a wasted opportunity, the whole episode with the vizier and his son in the middle makes for a sort of half-baked secondary villain, and the love story falls a bit flat), but having said all that, it still has a nice flair and exotic feeling that makes it interesting. The magic is fun (even if basically limitless), and there are a few little twists that kept the pages turning. Aladdin goes through a relatively decent character arc, from a naive, good-for-nothing boy to an assertive and resourceful (even if not by his own means) man. His respect for the princess Badoura and decent treatment of the genie(s) are good illustrations of his eventual maturity as a character. I'm a little torn about the illustrations too. They are vibrant and detailed and often quite beautiful, and I like the soft, stylized execution, but a lot of times the characters just look off, either in proportions or design or appeal. Still, despite some misgivings, I liked the edition overall. The story is just attractive to me for a lot of reasons, and maybe some of those are my great and long-lasting love for the Disney movie.

Speaking of... As far as the Disney version goes, they really departed a lot from the original story (though I think their original, abandoned treatment comes much closer than their finished product), but in the end I think that's okay. Combining the genies and merging the bad guys and elaborating on the princess's role were all great moves, especially since they helped to produce what is still my favorite Disney animated film.

I had a few issues with this telling of the ancient story of Aladdin, but overall I like the premise so much that I was willing to mostly overlook them. The text is a little long, but readable, and the illustrations have some design issues, but are colorful and detailed. It's hard to ignore the very deeply ingrained and most favorite Disney version when reading the original, but this edition was vivid enough to make for a fresh reminder of the source material.

[Tema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read numerous versions of Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp. This is the richest version I have ever read. The amount of detail in the body of the story is staggering, from clothing to feelings, the narrative does not skimp on anything. For that alone, this books gets five stars. Don't even get me started on the illustrations.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures are not impressive. Find a vintage version instead.