Fatima the Spinner and the Tent (Teaching Stories) - Softcover

Shah, Idries

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1942698070 ISBN 13: 9781942698074

Publisher: Hoopoe Books, 2015

Synopsis

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 shipwrecked and cast ashore alone near Alexandria. Adopted by a family of weavers, and beginning to prosper in her new life, she is captured and made to work making masts. Undertaking a journey to sell the masts, her ship is wrecked off the coast of China. It is only here that Fatima finally realizes that what seemed to be disasters were really essential steps towards realizing her eventual fulfillment. A story of wisdom and depth, ideal as a bedtime story, it helps children understand the need for perseverance to reach their goals. This Teaching-Story is well known in Greek folklore, but this version is attributed to the Sheikh Mohamed Jamaludin of Adrianople (modern-day Edirne in Turkey) who died in 1750. This book is filled with wonderful illustrations by Natasha Delmar. Taught to paint by her father, the celebrated classic Chinese painter Ng Yi-Ching, she captures Fatima's adventures with a wealth of detail and color. Using Middle Eastern and Chinese design , Delmar transports readers into the exotic worlds of Fatima's travels, in a way delightful to both young and old.

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: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1942698070
• ISBN 13: 9781942698074
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 38
• Illustrator: Delmar Natasha