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The Farmer's Wife: English-Dari Edition
The story of The Farmer's Wife tells how a woman first loses an apple in a hole in the ground, and then attempts a series of efforts to get it back. Children enjoy learning to repeat the sequence from memory, and when the story takes a sudden turn, contrary to all expectations, they also learn important lessons on how to resolve problems creatively.
The strikingly beautiful illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago invoke the origins of the story -- this traditional story has been told for hundreds of years in the Middle East and Central Asia -- while at the same time lending a uniquely playful atmosphere to this very amusing story.
The strikingly beautiful illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago invoke the origins of the story -- this traditional story has been told for hundreds of years in the Middle East and Central Asia -- while at the same time lending a uniquely playful atmosphere to this very amusing story.
38 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Idries Shah
382 books432 followersIdries Shah (Persian: ادریس شاه), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي), was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 20, 2010
Ages: 4 - 7
Format: Online
"The Farmer's Wife" is a picture book by Idries Shah, a prolific writer whose work spans many decades and continents. It is a cumulative story, meaning that each line builds upon the previous one until the conclusion. The basic premise is that a farmer's wife tries to convince various animals to set off a chain reaction that will eventually get an apple out of a hole that it has fallen into.
The story is nothing special, but the illustrations are breathtaking. Readers of all ages will appreciate the richness of the images, but only very young readers are likely to enjoy the story, which is simplistic and somewhat nonsensical.
This book would work well as a read-aloud (as long as the reader could add some pizzazz to the story). It would also be nice to project the book onto a wall so students could take in the images as completely as possible.
Format: Online
"The Farmer's Wife" is a picture book by Idries Shah, a prolific writer whose work spans many decades and continents. It is a cumulative story, meaning that each line builds upon the previous one until the conclusion. The basic premise is that a farmer's wife tries to convince various animals to set off a chain reaction that will eventually get an apple out of a hole that it has fallen into.
The story is nothing special, but the illustrations are breathtaking. Readers of all ages will appreciate the richness of the images, but only very young readers are likely to enjoy the story, which is simplistic and somewhat nonsensical.
This book would work well as a read-aloud (as long as the reader could add some pizzazz to the story). It would also be nice to project the book onto a wall so students could take in the images as completely as possible.
February 18, 2020
Shah, Idries. The Farmer's Wife. Illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago. The Farmer's Wife, available through the Children's Digital Library is a brightly illustrated book about the extremes a farmer's wife goes through to get an apple out of a hole. Written in Dari/Pashtow, I made my first mistake opening the book from the left. Like Manga, this book reads from right to left. I chose this book because I am all about the illustrations, and these are beautiful and bold, and framed with a small green frame. I am definitely missing big chunks of understanding about why the woman wants this particular apple out of the hole, and why she just does not bend down and grab it out. I also am missing how she is chaining each encounter together with the previous, so by pages 28-29, the whole menagerie goes tumbling down the hill. Ahh! If I was only fluent in Pashtow so I can understand and laugh heartily at this woman's antics! Judging by the amount of text on the pages, I would suggest this book for students from third to fourth grade.
January 29, 2021
#ReadYourWorld
My kids love a good cumulative story! In the vein of There Was An Old Lady Who… books, The Farmer’s Wife by Idries Shah builds on each line to create a chain of events involving a farmer’s wife, an apple, a bird, a cat, a dog, a bee, a beekeeper, a rope, a fire, water, and a cow. It makes for a great read aloud book, especially if the reader makes the effort to emphasize the farmer’s wife’s demands. We had a good laugh the first time we read this together! The illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago are absolutely gorgeous and evocative, and gave us loads to talk about.
We were generously gifted a bilingual English-Spanish copy of this book by Hoopoe Books for Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading it to my kids in both languages, and the translations are great. Bilingual books are really important for multilingual families - for us it means that both parents can participate in storytime AND the kids get the benefit of hearing a story in two of their languages.
This was my first foray into Idries Shah’s work, and I can’t wait to read more. There is no better way to introduce different stories from different places to our children than through books. The Farmer’s Wife is a traditional Sufi tale, and teaches children about creative problem solving and perseverance in a fun way. I love how Hoopoe Books have a mission to publish books from different areas of the world that allow our children to learn to think in creative ways: I think any parent or teacher would appreciate this! I’m looking forward to discovering more stories like this one.
Also!! The most exciting thing that I discovered is that The Farmer’s Wife AND a bunch of other Hoopoe books are available in many bilingual versions, and not just in English/other language combinations. Dari, Pashto, Urdu, or Arabic, combined with English, German, or French anyone? French only? Yes please! It’s quite hard for us to find children’s books in French only, so this is a huge plus for me!! (All of the books are beautifully illustrated too).
My kids love a good cumulative story! In the vein of There Was An Old Lady Who… books, The Farmer’s Wife by Idries Shah builds on each line to create a chain of events involving a farmer’s wife, an apple, a bird, a cat, a dog, a bee, a beekeeper, a rope, a fire, water, and a cow. It makes for a great read aloud book, especially if the reader makes the effort to emphasize the farmer’s wife’s demands. We had a good laugh the first time we read this together! The illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago are absolutely gorgeous and evocative, and gave us loads to talk about.
We were generously gifted a bilingual English-Spanish copy of this book by Hoopoe Books for Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading it to my kids in both languages, and the translations are great. Bilingual books are really important for multilingual families - for us it means that both parents can participate in storytime AND the kids get the benefit of hearing a story in two of their languages.
This was my first foray into Idries Shah’s work, and I can’t wait to read more. There is no better way to introduce different stories from different places to our children than through books. The Farmer’s Wife is a traditional Sufi tale, and teaches children about creative problem solving and perseverance in a fun way. I love how Hoopoe Books have a mission to publish books from different areas of the world that allow our children to learn to think in creative ways: I think any parent or teacher would appreciate this! I’m looking forward to discovering more stories like this one.
Also!! The most exciting thing that I discovered is that The Farmer’s Wife AND a bunch of other Hoopoe books are available in many bilingual versions, and not just in English/other language combinations. Dari, Pashto, Urdu, or Arabic, combined with English, German, or French anyone? French only? Yes please! It’s quite hard for us to find children’s books in French only, so this is a huge plus for me!! (All of the books are beautifully illustrated too).
January 29, 2021
Bilingual children's picture book. This cumulative tale starts with a farmer's wife who is picking apples. When one apple falls into a hole, she asks the bird to get it for her. When the bird refuses, she asks the cat to jump at the bird, and so on and so on until many animals, the beekeeper, and several inanimate objects are involved. I can see how it would be fun to read aloud with kids who could help name the animals on each page (with some sort of props to keep them in order). The illustrations are bright and colorful, in a classic folklore style. I was not a fan of the woman basically cursing everything that crossed her path and was a bit annoyed that she still got the fallen apple back. I guess my modern mentality of female empowerment and STEM learning would rather have had her brainstorm ways to get the apple out. But maybe that could be done as an extension activity with a class.
Digital copy provided by the publisher, Hoopoe Books, for Multicultural Children's Book Day 2021. #Readyourworld.
Digital copy provided by the publisher, Hoopoe Books, for Multicultural Children's Book Day 2021. #Readyourworld.
June 4, 2015
In connection to a school-wide (K-12) reading project, my students have been learning about Pakistan and Afghanistan and the lives of contemporary children in Central Asia. The goal of my partner teacher and I has been to share a range of stories and ideas that begin to show the diversity of Central Asian peoples and cultures. And while the books we've read have often featured people living on the other side of the world, many of the characters’ challenges connect directly to our challenges in the classroom, in our families, or in our city. And by exploring the similarities we share, in addition to our differences, we have been working to understand that there are many ways to do things and many ways to meet the same set of human needs. By highlighting the differences among people from Central Asia and the differences among the members of our own classroom, we hope to validate and honor the lived experiences of all.
The Farmer’s Wife is a cumulative tale detailing a woman’s efforts to retrieve an apple that has fallen into a hole. (Other fairly well known examples of cumulative tales include The House that Jack Built, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and The Napping House.) The woman tries to enlist a bird to help her, but the bird refuses. So she encourages a cat to try to convince the bird to help her. And so on. In the end, a surprise element resolves the situation, and everyone lives happily ever after.
After hearing the story, the children engaged in conversation along two threads. First, there was a discussion of problem solving, about alternative ways the woman could have solved her problem and retrieved the apple. Second, there was conversation around issues of community responsibility. Is it okay to encourage someone to hurt or provoke someone else because you are frustrated or angry with that third party? The children began to discuss strategies for appropriate conflict resolution.
For me, the highlight of the book was the bubbly illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago. The dynamic images caught the children’s attention and propelled the story forward with an element of jovial humor, while also showing the vibrancy of a modern Muslim woman, an image not easy to find in children's literature in the United States.
UPDATE (12/18/12): I have also read the bilingual English/Spanish version with my students. (ISBN: 1-883536-33-2)
The Farmer’s Wife is a cumulative tale detailing a woman’s efforts to retrieve an apple that has fallen into a hole. (Other fairly well known examples of cumulative tales include The House that Jack Built, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and The Napping House.) The woman tries to enlist a bird to help her, but the bird refuses. So she encourages a cat to try to convince the bird to help her. And so on. In the end, a surprise element resolves the situation, and everyone lives happily ever after.
After hearing the story, the children engaged in conversation along two threads. First, there was a discussion of problem solving, about alternative ways the woman could have solved her problem and retrieved the apple. Second, there was conversation around issues of community responsibility. Is it okay to encourage someone to hurt or provoke someone else because you are frustrated or angry with that third party? The children began to discuss strategies for appropriate conflict resolution.
For me, the highlight of the book was the bubbly illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago. The dynamic images caught the children’s attention and propelled the story forward with an element of jovial humor, while also showing the vibrancy of a modern Muslim woman, an image not easy to find in children's literature in the United States.
UPDATE (12/18/12): I have also read the bilingual English/Spanish version with my students. (ISBN: 1-883536-33-2)
June 28, 2011
Publisher: Hoopoe Books, c 1998.
ISBN: 1-88-3536-33-2
Illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago
Genre- Humor
Reading Level: Kindergarten-2nd grade
Read through the International Children's Digital Library: http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/...
The Farmer's wife is one of those great building stories where you start with one thing and repeat it again and again until the end of the book. For example in this story there is a bird, which is asked to get an apple from a hole because the farmer's wife is collecting apples for her husband, but one falls in a hole. The bird says no so the wife asks the cat to chase the bird to get the apple out of the hole, the cat says no. So the wife asks the dog to chase the cat so the cat will chase the bird so the bird will get the apple, but the dog says no. She proceeds to ask a bee, then a beekeeper, then a rope, then a fire, then water, then a cow, who all say no. Then she finally asks the bird to peck the cow which then creates the chain reaction you've been building to the whole book. Of course the bird finally ends up creating a wind which makes the apple come out of the hole. I could see a lot of kids loving the building idea, because it's expected. For me however it became a boring. I also found some of the "things" she asked to help, too far fetched, like the puddle of water.
The Illustrations in this book were wonderful, especially the clothing the farmer's wife wears. I also really liked how the book was in English on one page and spanish on the other page, so if you have some ESL students or students learnign Spanish, this could be a helpful resourse.
ISBN: 1-88-3536-33-2
Illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago
Genre- Humor
Reading Level: Kindergarten-2nd grade
Read through the International Children's Digital Library: http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/...
The Farmer's wife is one of those great building stories where you start with one thing and repeat it again and again until the end of the book. For example in this story there is a bird, which is asked to get an apple from a hole because the farmer's wife is collecting apples for her husband, but one falls in a hole. The bird says no so the wife asks the cat to chase the bird to get the apple out of the hole, the cat says no. So the wife asks the dog to chase the cat so the cat will chase the bird so the bird will get the apple, but the dog says no. She proceeds to ask a bee, then a beekeeper, then a rope, then a fire, then water, then a cow, who all say no. Then she finally asks the bird to peck the cow which then creates the chain reaction you've been building to the whole book. Of course the bird finally ends up creating a wind which makes the apple come out of the hole. I could see a lot of kids loving the building idea, because it's expected. For me however it became a boring. I also found some of the "things" she asked to help, too far fetched, like the puddle of water.
The Illustrations in this book were wonderful, especially the clothing the farmer's wife wears. I also really liked how the book was in English on one page and spanish on the other page, so if you have some ESL students or students learnign Spanish, this could be a helpful resourse.
February 17, 2016
I gave this book two stars for the illustrations only which were brilliantly colorful and artistic. However, I was a little disturbed by the violence the author used between the characters and use of language. For example, she wants bee to sting the dog or tie up the bee keeper for saying "no". Any student after 2nd grade knows that when a bee stings it dies right after. So in essence the author is asking the bee to kill itself for one apple when she has a whole basket full. Then calling each character naughty for not doing what she wants. I found this book to be a little offensive. I was a little disappointed at the negativity. I would not read this to my child or to my school students. I wouldn't want them to act it out like many young students do. Target audience adults.
June 16, 2013
This is one of my favorite books. I love this book because it is a dual language book and is a great way to incorporate the Spanish language into your classroom. With this particular book it introduces words for animals and things that relate to them. It also incorporates simple grammar which can allow the students to build the different tenses. It also has beautiful pictures that can allow your students to connect to a different cultural setting.
January 29, 2021
I was gifted a bilingual copy of “The Farmer’s Wife” / “La esposa del granjero” (written by Idries Shah and illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago from Hoopoe Publishing) to review for Multicultural Children’s Book Day.
One day the farmer’s wife is out picking apples when one of the apples falls into a hole and she is unable to retrieve it. As a result, she calls on the help of farm animals, friends, and some inanimate objects to get her apple back. After many requests, the apple is returned to her...in a surprising way!
The illustrations in this story are delightful! They are vivid, fun, expressive, and engaging to the reader. The text structure is repetitive, which is characteristic of the oral storytelling tradition that the story originates from. You will find the structure similar to stories like “The Napping House” or “The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.” The predictability of this structure engages young readers and reinforces vocabulary--perfect for students in the primary grades.
For teachers or parents looking for activities to tie in with this book, a few suggestions to consider are
-farm animal vocabulary
-matching nouns and verbs/object and actions
-categorizing living vs non-living
-story sequencing
-problem solving--brainstorming ways to get the apple back; invent and make an object that could get the apple out of the hole
I look forward to sharing this beautiful book with my students in the upcoming school years. It’s a must-have for your early childhood library!
One day the farmer’s wife is out picking apples when one of the apples falls into a hole and she is unable to retrieve it. As a result, she calls on the help of farm animals, friends, and some inanimate objects to get her apple back. After many requests, the apple is returned to her...in a surprising way!
The illustrations in this story are delightful! They are vivid, fun, expressive, and engaging to the reader. The text structure is repetitive, which is characteristic of the oral storytelling tradition that the story originates from. You will find the structure similar to stories like “The Napping House” or “The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.” The predictability of this structure engages young readers and reinforces vocabulary--perfect for students in the primary grades.
For teachers or parents looking for activities to tie in with this book, a few suggestions to consider are
-farm animal vocabulary
-matching nouns and verbs/object and actions
-categorizing living vs non-living
-story sequencing
-problem solving--brainstorming ways to get the apple back; invent and make an object that could get the apple out of the hole
I look forward to sharing this beautiful book with my students in the upcoming school years. It’s a must-have for your early childhood library!
July 21, 2017
Categories/Genres for this class fulfilled by this book: International Children's Digital Library & Traditional Literature
Does it expand and enhance the traditional reading experience? No. The only feature available is to enlarge the text box.
Does it allow a linear reading experience? Yes.
Does it engage multiple literacies and learning styles? No. It is offered in visual text form only.
It is intelligently designed? Is it intuitive as one just clicks arrows to move between pages. It is not flexible nor customizable (aside from enlarging the text box).
Does it have legs (i.e., longevity)? Yes. The repetitive language make it an ideal story for beginning readers.
Copyright date: 2017
Age level of interest: 3-12 year old
Brief description: A folktale about a farmer's wife who is trying to retrieve an apple from a hole.
Does it expand and enhance the traditional reading experience? No. The only feature available is to enlarge the text box.
Does it allow a linear reading experience? Yes.
Does it engage multiple literacies and learning styles? No. It is offered in visual text form only.
It is intelligently designed? Is it intuitive as one just clicks arrows to move between pages. It is not flexible nor customizable (aside from enlarging the text box).
Does it have legs (i.e., longevity)? Yes. The repetitive language make it an ideal story for beginning readers.
Copyright date: 2017
Age level of interest: 3-12 year old
Brief description: A folktale about a farmer's wife who is trying to retrieve an apple from a hole.
January 3, 2022
I was gifted a digital copy of the bilingual book The Farmer’s Wife written by Idries Shah and beautifully illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago, published by Hoopoe Books.
The Farmers wife is a cumulative tale, where the dialogue repeats and builds up a whimsical story about the farmers wife trying to get an apple that has fallen inside a hole. She tries to coax a bird to get it for her and when the bird refuses she starts trying to convince the other animals and objects nearby to help her.
I really liked that the book includes the story in both English and Spanish, perfect for bilingual families like my own. I also enjoyed that the author brings to us this tale of Middle Eastern origin that is entertaining for all and we were not familiar with. We love discovering new stories that originate from different cultures but at the same time can be familiar and relatable.
Read January 2021
The Farmers wife is a cumulative tale, where the dialogue repeats and builds up a whimsical story about the farmers wife trying to get an apple that has fallen inside a hole. She tries to coax a bird to get it for her and when the bird refuses she starts trying to convince the other animals and objects nearby to help her.
I really liked that the book includes the story in both English and Spanish, perfect for bilingual families like my own. I also enjoyed that the author brings to us this tale of Middle Eastern origin that is entertaining for all and we were not familiar with. We love discovering new stories that originate from different cultures but at the same time can be familiar and relatable.
Read January 2021
Read
January 29, 2021Many thanks to Hoopoe Publishing for gifting me a copy of The Farmer's Wife by Idries Shah, illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago to review for Multicultural Children's Book Day.
The Farmer's Wife is a bilingual picture book, written in English and Spanish. It's about a farmer's wife who wants to rescue an apple and concocts a clever plan to achieve her goal.
Rose Mary Santiago's illustrations are bright and whimsical, and have a folk art style that pairs well with the text.
Told in a cumulative storytelling style, The Farmer's Wife would be a great complement to classroom units on fairy tales, cause-and-effect, or Rube Goldberg machines.
The Farmer's Wife is a bilingual picture book, written in English and Spanish. It's about a farmer's wife who wants to rescue an apple and concocts a clever plan to achieve her goal.
Rose Mary Santiago's illustrations are bright and whimsical, and have a folk art style that pairs well with the text.
Told in a cumulative storytelling style, The Farmer's Wife would be a great complement to classroom units on fairy tales, cause-and-effect, or Rube Goldberg machines.
March 18, 2022
The Farmer’s Wife- a Sufi Folktale by Idries Shah, Illustrator Rosemary Santiago - Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of a farmer’s wife who drops an apple in a hole. She is not able to pull it out. She views the occupants of the area for help. She requests a bird, a cat, a dog, a bee, a beekeeper, a rope, a fire, water, and a cow. Initially all refuse to help. But in the end, the bird assists her and all other animals in the series also follow. A strong wind takes out the apples from the hole for her. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the narrative. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.
November 2, 2023
I read "The farmer's wife = La esposa del granjero" by Idries Shah, illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago, for a children's literature graduate course I am taking. The book was about a farmer's wife who dropped an apple in a hole, and she tried to ask several animals/friends/objects to help her get the apple out of the hole. At the end of the story, the apple is retrieved from the hole in a surprising way. The illustrations were bright, vibrant, colorful pictures that were very expressive and detailed. The facial expressions in the story were detailed and helped the reader understand exactly how the lady, friends and animals were feeling. The illustrations were on one page, except for the picture of the cow, which I feel foreshadowed the way the apple would get out of the hole. I feel the colorful pictures helped keep the reader engaged in the story. This story was written in both Spanish and English. It was originally published in London in English and then was translated into Spanish. This would be a good story to read in both Spanish and English so that students could hear the story in two different languages. I have a number of multilingual students in my classroom, and I feel they would enjoy hearing it read in the Spanish language as well as English. I would recommend this book for a primary grade classroom to learn about story sequencing, using the order that the lady asked the animals/friends/objects to help her get the apple out of the hole. The story is also a cumulative story. The repetition of the text also reinforces reading skills and is a good way for students to predict what is going to happen next.
September 15, 2019
I read the bilingual Urdu/English version this afternoon as part of my quest to become conversational in Urdu. This was exactly what I had been looking for as a reading material of around my level. Easy to understand but with one or two new words per page. It is difficult to find level appropriate Urdu reading material and this fills that gap. Furthermore the story and illustration is funny and charming, and the cumulative, recursive form of the story helps reinforce the vocabulary.
August 10, 2020
This tale is sophisticated musical chairs. A repeating tale to keep any child and any class of small children happy. Adults may find that the story has hidden depths or at least suspect hidden depths.
May 12, 2018
An attempt at a repetitive, circular story, that adds one more element with each page. It is not well written, and the chain of events is not that entertaining or logical.
October 30, 2020
If I had continued with the Ph.D. in English at Texas A&M-- a pro-life university where Children's Literature is studied-- I would have chosen Dr. Liew, Margaret Ezell, and Claire Katz to be on my dissertation committee workin' on acculturation of immigrant children through children's books, and/or international labor-class politics for women as my subject area.
March 25, 2017
An apple picking woman leaves all her other apple to recover a single escaped apple. She aspires to enlist the assistance of animals and inanimate objects to recover her lost fruit. A children's book with much repeating.
March 15, 2024
How help was conjured.
August 11, 2008
Taisir LOVED this book! I had to read it to him twice a day for two weeks... and I'll admit I had fun too. We made up voices for the characters and Taisir coached me on which voice suited which character and we had a great time. Idries Shah is an unsung hero of cross-cultural exchange and those from Central and South Asia should become familiar with his books- he has written for children as well as adults and is an amazing and prolific author. I've read his other chilrens' books with Taisir and he loves all of them- and I can't wait to read what he has penned for adults... i'll keep ya posted.
By the way, the illustrations by Rose Marie Santiago are incredible.
By the way, the illustrations by Rose Marie Santiago are incredible.
May 15, 2009
This story was written in both English and Spanish. It's all about a farmer's wife who wanted to get her apple from a hole in the ground, she indeed tried her best (:
Want to read
September 26, 2009This is a non-print material found on International Digital Child's Library
June 17, 2012
Read these beautiful books to my children many times over
July 5, 2014
Fun cumulative tale.
March 13, 2024
ccccccccv
August 10, 2020
A wonderful musical chairs.
December 11, 2022
Love the repetition! Great book for kids!
September 2, 2017
It's a good bilingual book for language practice. The story is simple with repetition to help with vocab and grammar.
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