How the Fisherman Tricked the Genie: a Tale Within a Tale Within a Tale

by Christopher Sunami

Having let the genie out of the bottle, the humble fisherman is surprised when the genie tells him that he now wants to kill him, thus the fisherman must use a series of clever tales to get the evil genie back in the bottle in order to save his life.

Genres: Picture Books, Folklore, Fantasy, Adventure

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This clever story about a fisherman who encounters a nasty genie includes three tales told one inside of another inside of another, each tale being identified with a different type of print. It would be a good story to illustrate sequencing. Recommended.

[Slingsnarrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8 yr old daughter loves this book. She has checked it out 3 times from the library and knows exactly where to find it on the shelf. She has a taste for fantasy and fairy tales, and this is a great one, with great illustrations.

[Jenna Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three separate stories are woven together throughout this book to create one large story about heaven and fate. The book begins when a fisherman in Arabia casts his nets and catches a brass bottle which he uncorks and unleashes a genie. The reader may assume this is going to be a story like Aladdin, but on the contrary, the genie in this story tells the fisherman he is one of the evil spirits who rebelled against Heaven and is now going to kill the fisherman. The fisherman tells the genie a story about heaven and fate. The story goes, there was a strange little man who helps heal the sick king by giving him an embarrassing order and telling him to remember his debt to his healer. The king was embarrassed and believed that since he was too powerful for any consequences, he would kill the man who healed him. The healer told the kind a story about a prince who killed his dog who tried to save him from a terrible fate from, which then fell upon him. The king did not believe the story, so the healer gave him his just punishment. The fisherman finished his story and the Genie did not believe him, so he gave the genie a series of challenges which lead to the genie's ultimate loss.
This book deals with the concepts of heaven and fate and their relation to people who believe they are too powerful to face consequences for their own actions. Pride and arrogance lead to the ultimate end of all evil characters in the book, making this a cautionary tale about becoming too prideful.
The illustrations add greatly to the story and are in full color. The different text formats greatly helped distinguish between the stories. This was overall a very enjoyable read.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story reminded me a little of the Arabian nights story, where the princess keeps prolonging the story so she won't get killed.

A down on his luck fisherman happens upon a genie in a bottle. The genie is set to murder the fisherman instead of granting him wishes when the fisherman suspects him with a story within a story. In the end he uses the genies pride against him, tricking him back into the bottle.

[Carol Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stories intertwined. Another postmodern read.

[Forked Radish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale within a tale within a tale within a tale. Not a bad theme or is it a meme?

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations in this book, and the fact that it was done by a half Japanese American/half African American author with a Japanese American illustrator! I enjoyed the whole tale within a tale within a tale concept and it reminded me of The Arabian Nights stories.

[571 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade 3-6 SLJ/ Ages 5-7 BK
a fisherman recounts 2 tales in order to convince a genie not to kill him, and in the process tricks the genie and saves his own life. Multicultural, good vs evil, enchantments, healing, kings and princes

[Becca Holcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I would use for upper elementary age students. It shows how when you do goods things you do not always have to get a reward in return, especially one that will only make you greedy in the long run.