The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - Hardcover

Kimmel, Eric A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 082341258X ISBN 13: 9780823412587

Publisher: Holiday House, 1996

Synopsis

Ali Baba learns the special words to open a secret lair filled with the loot of the forty thieves, but when he tells his brother, Qasim, greed takes over and Qasim is found dead, leaving Ali Baba to wonder if he had been better off not knowing the words at all.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-Kimmel's text for what is probably the second-most recognized story from the Arabian Nights reads smoothly, with a folktale flow, and Hillenbrand's colorful watercolor and oil pastels border on a folk-art style with the people having a cartoonlike edge. The pictures accompany the story adequately enough, though not with the verve of opulent carpets and jewels. The illustrations lack the energy of the artist's work in Connie Wooldridge's Wicked Jack (Holiday, 1995). The cover best captures the flavor of the Middle Eastern setting. An author's note provides a historical explanation for the origin of Ali Baba's encounter with the 40 thieves and the word "assassin." The typeface has a jarring look on the page; the denseness of the capital letters makes them standout unevenly within the text and detracts from a natural flow of type. That aside, there's no doubt that this simplified, single-volume version of the "Open Sesame" story will find an audience.
Julie Cummins, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

This oft-told tale is so refreshingly illustrated that it deserves this new telling. When Ali Baba discovers a cave where thieves have stashed their plunder, he takes home a modest three bags of gold. But when his rich and greedy brother attempts a grander raid, he is murdered by the thieves?who then go after Ali Baba. The story of Ali Baba's triumph over the thieves is, as ever, a great adventure, and Kimmel (The Three Princes; I Know Not What, I Know Not Where) retells it smoothly. Hillenbrand (Wicked Jack) brings to the tale a lightheartedness that should woo readers both familiar and unfamiliar with the story. Unique, mottled backdrops plus roguish caricatures artfully take the edge off the violent goings-on (beheadings, quarterings and the like). Handsome typography and skillful placement of spot art and vignettes camouflage the length of the text. A fun, breezy take on a classic. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 082341258X
• ISBN 13: 9780823412587
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Hillenbrand Will