Idries Shah

(Bilingual English-Turkish edition) When a boy visits another village, he is amazed to find the people terrified of something that - just because they have not seen it before - they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. Using his own knowledge and by demonstration, the boy helps the villagers overcome their fears. This story is part of an oral tradition from the Middle East and Central Asia that is more than a thousand years old. In an entertaining way, it introduces children to an interesting aspect of human behavior and so enables them to recognize it in their daily lives. One of many tales from the body of Sufi literature collected by Idries Shah, this one is presented here as part of his series of books for young readers. This is the series' second book to be illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago, following the award-winning bestseller The Farmer's Wife.

(Bilingual English-Turkish edition) When a good-natured lion, king of all the animals, sees his reflection in a pool of water for the first time, he gasps at the fierce creature staring back at him and is too frightened to drink - until, finally, he overcomes his fear. Children learn through the lion how to deal positively with the fears and inhibitions that so often arise from situations they may not yet understand. Originally told by the 13th-century Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi, The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water is one of a series of teaching stories that were collected by Idries Shah and that have been used in the East for hundreds of years as educational instruments to help children understand life. Ingrid Rodriguez's beautiful illustrations bring this children's version to life with warmth, humor and a distinctive richness of detail.

(Bilingual English-Turkish edition) Fatima is a young woman whose life seems beset by one disaster after another. Setting forth on a journey from her home in the West, she is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone near Alexandria, Egypt. Adopted by a local family of weavers, and beginning to prosper in her new life, she is captured and forced to work making masts for ships. While undertaking a journey to sell the masts, she finds herself shipwrecked once again - this time off the coast of China, where she finally realizes that what seemed to be disasters were really essential steps toward her eventual fulfillment. Full of wisdom and depth, and ideal as a bedtime story, Fatima's tale helps children understand the need for perseverance to reach their goals. This traditional teaching story is well known in Greek folklore, but the present version is attributed to Sheikh Mohamed Jamaludin of Adrianople (modern-day Edirne in Turkey), who died in 1750. Fatima the Spinner and the Tent is filled with wonderful illustrations by Natasha Delmar, who was taught to paint by her father, the celebrated classic Chinese painter Ng Yi-Ching. Delmar captures Fatima's adventures with a wealth of detail and color and, using Middle Eastern and Chinese design, transports readers to the exotic lands of Fatima's travels in a way delightful to both young and old.

(Bilingual English-Dari edition) This is the story of a very badly behaved man, how a young boy in the village hatches a plan to change the man's behavior - and how, with the help of the other villagers, the plan succeeds, to everyone's benefit. Children, of course, love the idea of an adult behaving badly. At the same time, the story helps them learn valuable lessons about initiative, negotiation, conflict resolution and cooperation. Rose Mary Santiago's illustrations provide delightful and amusing counterpoint to the tale. The Man with Bad Manners is one of an illustrated series of Sufi teaching stories from the Middle East and Central Asia that were collected and adapted for children by Idries Shah, and that have captivated hearts and minds for more than a thousand years. The stories are designed to help children learn to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. In the Sufi tradition, there is a continuum between the children's story, the entertainment or folklore story and the instructional or instrumental story. A story can help children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to, but it can also stimulate a deeper understanding in adults.

(Bilingual English-Pashto edition) This is the story of a very badly behaved man, how a young boy in the village hatches a plan to change the man's behavior - and how, with the help of the other villagers, the plan succeeds, to everyone's benefit. Children, of course, love the idea of an adult behaving badly. At the same time, the story helps them learn valuable lessons about initiative, negotiation, conflict resolution and cooperation. Rose Mary Santiago's illustrations provide delightful and amusing counterpoint to the tale. The Man with Bad Manners is one of an illustrated series of Sufi teaching stories from the Middle East and Central Asia that were collected and adapted for children by Idries Shah, and that have captivated hearts and minds for more than a thousand years. The stories are designed to help children learn to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. In the Sufi tradition, there is a continuum between the children's story, the entertainment or folklore story and the instructional or instrumental story. A story can help children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to, but it can also stimulate a deeper understanding in adults.

(Bilingual English-Ukrainian edition) Fatima is a young woman whose life seems beset by one disaster after another. Setting forth on a journey from her home in the West, she is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone near Alexandria, Egypt. Adopted by a local family of weavers, and beginning to prosper in her new life, she is captured and forced to work making masts for ships. While undertaking a journey to sell the masts, she finds herself shipwrecked once again - this time off the coast of China, where she finally realizes that what seemed to be disasters were really essential steps toward her eventual fulfillment. Full of wisdom and depth, and ideal as a bedtime story, Fatima's tale helps children understand the need for perseverance to reach their goals. This traditional teaching story is well known in Greek folklore, but the present version is attributed to Sheikh Mohamed Jamaludin of Adrianople (modern-day Edirne in Turkey), who died in 1750. Fatima the Spinner and the Tent is filled with wonderful illustrations by Natasha Delmar, who was taught to paint by her father, the celebrated classic Chinese painter Ng Yi-Ching. Delmar captures Fatima's adventures with a wealth of detail and color and, using Middle Eastern and Chinese design, transports readers to the exotic lands of Fatima's travels in a way delightful to both young and old.

When a little boy wakes up with a dry throat, those around him run about trying to work out what caused the condition. One by one, servants, doctors, and medical students try remedies that only complicate the situation and make the condition worse, ignoring what readers will see as the obvious solution. This is one of a series of illustrated books for the young written by the Afghan philosopher and educator Idries Shah, whose collections of narratives and teaching stories have captivated the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. It belongs to a rich storytelling tradition from Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Middle East that is more than 1000 years old. Teaching stories are designed specifically to foster thinking skills and perception. They suggest in their structure and in the movement of their characters ways of looking at difficulties that can help solve problems. This story illustrates in a very humorous way just how foolish people can be when they fail to consider a situation before springing into action.