Aziz: the story teller
by Vi Hughes, illustrated by Stefan Czernecki
Recommended because this enchanting children's book tells a tale of a young boy who loves stories; a weary old man wishing to pass on his magic; and a small faded carpet exchanged for a donkey. This story weaves itself in and out of carpets, marketplaces, tales and magic, succeeding in creating a tapestry to delight children and adults alike. Vi Hughes is well equipped to write this tale, being a parent, educator and student of children's literature. Stefan Czernecki is an acclaimed children's books illustrator, and adds visual impact to Aziz the Storyteller through his apt illustrations.
-- Teach Global Education Ohio State University, Reviewed by: Melek Oyman, 02/08/2004
Story hoards by Jane Doonan. TES Editorial
Poor Aziz. A day-dreaming youth who
works with his father selling rugs in an ancient-looking Arabian
marketplace, Aziz never manages to be the industrious son his father wishes he were. �If
you do not help me,� Aziz�s father implores daily, �who will provide for me
when I am old?�
One day, while surveying the market
trying to find potential customers for rugs, Aziz is taken up by the tales of an
old storyteller who has wandered into town. Aziz stands all day, listening to
story after story, as do many other passers by, who toss the old man coin after
coin for the quality and enchantment of his stories. When Aziz returns to his
father, he is scolded for his negligence.
The next day, Aziz�s father is too
sick to go to the marketplace and sends Aziz
there alone. Once again, Aziz
becomes so absorbed by the old storyteller�s fables,
he sells nothing that day. But
before the old man leaves that night, he offers to
exchange his rug, which he claims
is magical, for Aziz�s mule. �All the stories of
the world are woven into it, tale
upon tale. They will be yours to tell, for you are
a storyteller too,� the old man
says. Aziz accepts the offer. His father, upon
hearing of the transaction, is
underwhelmed by the �bargain� Aziz has struck.
Needless to say, everything turns
out wonderfully well in the end.
For that matter, Aziz the
Storyteller is a wonderfully fun read. And with simple
lines that thicken and thin, and
figures patterned after basic geometric forms,
Stefan Czernecki's illustrations,
inked on parchment-colored paper, lend his
illustrations a guileless
directness, full of feeling, dramatically staged. Recommended.
--Tom Bowden is Contributing Book Review Editor to The Education Digest
The Education Digest, May 2002
"Aziz the Storyteller" is about telling stories and
listening to the wisdom of history. Aziz is scolded by
his father for listening to tales in the marketplace,
instead of helping with the family business. In this
story set in the Middle East, a boy disobeys his
father in order to give him a present better than
obedience. -- BC Bookworld, Summer 2002
Storytelling principal weaves poetic fable
by Naoibh O'Connor-Staff writer
In her debut for children, Hughes crafts a
convincing tale to explain the storyteller's art and
its transmission from one generation to the next.
Tea-stained pages provide the backdrop for Czernecki's
(Huevos Rancheros, not reviewed, etc.) heavy,
black-ink line drawings which depict Aziz as he enters
the marketplace with his aging father. There to sell
carpets, Aziz collects stories instead. "If you
do not help me," says his father, "who will provide
for me when I am old?" Despite his best intentions,
Aziz fails to make any sales. Then, one day, the
storyteller approaches: " 'Will you trade your donkey
for this enchanted rug?' " he asks. When the storyteller
explains that the carpet, into which "all the stories
of the world are woven," will allow him to support his
father through storytelling, Aziz agrees to the trade.
But when his father voices his disapproval Aziz
returns to the market to find the storyteller and undo
the deal. Unsuccessful, Aziz does the only thing he
can: he unrolls the carpet and rests. To his surprise,
the carpet unravels story after story, crowds gather,
and coins rain down from the heavens. Even his father
hears his stories and joyfully accepts Aziz's new
vocation. Hughes draws the story to its natural
conclusion as Aziz travels westward and eventually
passes the carpet along to a younger storyteller, just
as he was instructed to do so many years ago. It's a
good yarn, the only flaw being the design: modeled
after Arabic lettering, the stylized print-accented
and punctuated in red-strains the eye. (Picture book.
5-8)
-- Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2002
Books representing an Islamic perspective garner a lot of interest these
days, and Aziz the Storyteller draws on that interest in both its
subject matter and its presentation. Though it's an original story, this
book reads like a tale from the Arabian nights�. The book's design is
striking: the title is hand-lettered in an Arabic script. The text
itself is presented in a two-colour font that suggests Eastern
calligraphy, which, though it's beautiful, (might be) difficult for a
child to read. -- Quill and Quire May 2002
|
