Overview

A young fox's ingenuity and perseverance enable it to escape from a clever trap set by a man. This engaging story can inspire children to face challenges directly and to overcome obstacles in their path - and even to make use of those obstacles to solve problems. Adapted for children by Idries Shah, it is one of hundreds of Sufi developmental tales he collected from oral and written sources in Central Asia and the Middle East. Sally Mallam's illustrations provide delightful and imaginative depictions of the characters. For more than a millennium, the story of the man and the fox has entertained young people and helped foster in them the ability to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves.

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9781942698210

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The late Afghan writer begins this tale with, Once upon a time, when the moon grew on a tree and ants were fond of pickles, there was a lovely brown fox. He meets a man who promises him a chicken and then gives him a heavy sack. The man tells Rowba to hide in the bushes so other farmers will not see him eating the chicken. The sack is full of stones, and the fox is soon caught in a net. Using a sharp stone from the sack, he cuts a hole in the net and escapes. Mallam's rich full-color illustrations in a folk style evoke an unfamiliar culture, while the clever fox reminds readers of characters in familiar fables. The bottoms of some pictures tell small stories, and more lessons can be learned here than merely why it is so difficult to catch a fox. This teaching story is a useful addition to folklore collections. -- Library School Journal

Mallam's rich full-color illustrations in a folk style evoke an unfamiliar culture, while the clever fox reminds readers of characters in familiar fables. ... more lessons can be learned here than merely why it is so difficult to catch a fox. - School Library Journal (U.S.) As a teaching story, the tale entertains, reinforces literacy and thinking skills, and sets the stage for deeper reflection on what led to the fox's imprisonment and what he had to do to escape. Sally Mallam's lively illustrations are suggestive of the layers of meaning contained in the story: her renderings of the man and the fox are sure to delight young readers, and if they look closely they'll find a second 'story' in the margins! - Denise Nessel, Ph.D., Consultant and Director of Publications National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (U.S.) These teaching stories can be experienced on many levels. A child may simply enjoy hearing them; an adult may analyze them in a more sophisticated way. Both may eventually benefit from the lessons within. - All Things Considered, National Public Radio (U.S.) They [teaching stories] suggest ways of looking at difficulties that can help children solve problems calmly while, at the same time, giving them fresh perspectives on these difficulties that help them develop their cognitive abilities - psychologist Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., in his lecture Teaching Stories and the Brain given at the U.S. Library of Congress Through repeated readings, these stories provoke fresh insight and more flexible thought in children. Beautifully illustrated. - NEA Today: The Magazine of the National Education Association (U.S.) Shah's versatile and multilayered tales provoke fresh insight and more flexible thought in children. - Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature These stories ... are not moralistic fables or parables, which aim to indoctrinate, nor are they written only to amuse. Rather, they are carefully designed to show effective ways of defining and responding to common life experiences. - Denise Nessel, Ph.D., Senior Consultant with the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (U.S.), writing in Library Media Connection: The Professional Magazine for School Library Media Specialists (U.S.) These enchanting stories Shah has collected have a richness and depth not often encountered in children's literature, and their effect on minds young and old can be almost magical. - Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education (U.S.) Shah has collected hundreds of Sufi tales, many of which are teaching tales or instructional stories. In this tradition, the line between stories for children and those for adults is not as clear as it seems to be in Western cultures, and the lessons are important for all generations. - School Library Journal (U.S.) ... these are vibrant, engaging, universal stories.... - Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education (U.S.) ... a series of children's books that have captivated the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. The books are tales from a rich tradition of story telling from Central Asia and the Middle East. Stories told and retold to children, by campfire and candlelight, for more than a thousand years. - NEA Today: The Magazine of the National Education Association (U.S.)

Author Information

Idries Shah spent much of his life collecting and publishing Sufi classical narratives and teaching stories from oral and written sources in the Middle East and Central Asia. The tales he retold especially for children are published by Hoopoe Books in beautifully illustrated editions and have been widely commended - by Western educators and psychologists, the U.S. Library of Congress, National Public Radio and other media - for their unique ability to foster social-emotional development, thinking skills and perception in children and adults alike. Told for centuries, these stories express universal themes from the cultures that produced them, showing how much we have in common and can learn from each other. As noted by reviewers, such stories are more than just entertaining; familiarity with them provokes flexibility of thought, since each one contains levels of meaning that unfold in accordance with an individual's experience and understanding.

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