Fatima, the Spinner and the Tent (Teaching Story) - Hardcover

Shah, Idries

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1883536421 ISBN 13: 9781883536428

Publisher: Hoopoe Books, 2006

Synopsis

Presents the Sufi teaching tale of Fatima, a woman who learns the arts of spinning, weaving, and mast-making after a series of unfortunate events, but whose skills eventually lead her to happiness.

About this title

About the Author:

Idries Shah devoted his life to collecting, selecting and translating key works of Eastern Sufi classical literature, adapting them to the needs of the West and disseminating them in the Occident. Called by some "practical philosophy," by others "templates in straight thinking" – these works represent centuries of Sufi thought aimed at the development of human potential to its fullest extent. They stress virtues such as common sense, clear-thinking and humor to counter cant and religious dogma. As such they may be viewed as an antidote to radicalism and fanaticism much needed in the world today. Hoopoe Books publishes stories in this tradition selected for children: "From thinking children come thinking adults."

Review:

Fatima The Spinner And The Tent is based on a classical "Teaching-Story" well known in Greek folklore - this particular version is attributed to Sheikh Mohamed Jamaludin of Adrianople (modern-day Edirne). Fatima the Spinner and the Tent is the tale of a woman who seems beset with one disaster after another as she travels from Morocco to the Mediterranean, Egypt, Turkey, and finally China. It is in China that she realizes the that what seemed to be terrible misfortune was in fact a valuable part of her life and her path to fulfillment, for in the course of her journey she learned the skills that would serve her well in her hour of greatest need. A story of wisdom and hidden depth, recommended for bedtime reading and children's library collections. -- Midwest Book Review When a shipwreck leaves her washed up on a beach, Fatima is taken in by a family of weavers. She learns their trade, only to be captured by slavers, who sell her to a mast-builder. Entrusted to accompany a cargo to market, the girl survives another shipwreck off the coast of China, where she is welcomed by townspeople as the female stranger of legend who would make a tent for the Emperor. She is delivered to the palace, where she uses her skills to complete the task by spinning flax into ropes; weaving some sturdy cloth; and carving tent poles, finally realizing her wish for happiness. The story fulfills the requisites of a folktale-a strong main character, three misfortunes, the completion of a seemingly impossible task, and the granting of a wish. Delmar's finely detailed paintings incorporate a variety of Middle Eastern and Chinese designs, both within the pictures and in borders surrounding text boxes. Several spreads are panoramas that have amazing depth. An endpaper map shows the path of Fatima's travels. Although some aspects of the plot are weaker than the protagonist's strength of character, children will relate to the positive lesson about making the best of one's misfortunes. -- School Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Hoopoe Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1883536421
• ISBN 13: 9781883536428
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Delmar Natasha