Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale

by Eric A. Kimmel, Omar Rayyan (Illustrator)

Overview

On his way to Baghdad, Joha discovers a wishing stick. But how does it work? Joha makes some wishes, and the opposites come true. His old sandals disappear when he wishes for a new pair. He carries a donkey on his back after wishing for a donkey to carry him. And when the sultan gets hold of the stick, things really get out of control. How will Joha learn its secrets before he wishes himself into more trouble?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477816875
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	06/25/2013
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	798,797
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

The wishing scheme and fulsome pictures promise read-aloud fun.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

As he explains in a note, Kimmel has created an original tale, adapting a Yemenite story ("The Answered Prayer") to the traditional Arabic "Joha" motif concerning a wise fool-e.g., Nasreddin Hoja and, possibly, Cervantes's Sancho Panza. Here, Joha finds a wishing stick on his way to Baghdad. Unfortunately, it works by contraries: instead of new shoes, it makes his old ones vanish; wishing for a donkey to carry him results in poor Joha's carrying the unwilling beast. Only after inadvertently multiplying the warts on the end of the Sultan's nose does Joha encounter a man wise enough to tell him he's holding the stick upside down. Thus, Joha can undo its latest mischief and mollify the Sultan, though-like the couple in "The Three Wishes," whose grand expectations boil down to a sausage for supper-Joha's hopes are dashed once more. Still, he ends up with the now-compliant donkey. Kimmel narrates with his usual wit and panache, nicely extended in Rayyan's watercolor illustrations, where humorously exaggerated characters are realized in tastefully muted colors while the action bursts energetically from elegant frames. A fine choice for storytelling.

Horn Book Magazine

Gr 1–3—Joha's wishes go awry, thanks to improper use of a magic stick he accidentally finds while walking to Baghdad. Kimmel recasts a Jewish tale from Yemen, borrowing story elements from widespread Middle Eastern folklore featuring the foolish wise man, aka Nasreddin Hodja. Kimmel's introductory note doesn't explain his choice of the lesser-known name "Joha" for the character. Perhaps he's melding the Arabic Juha and the Egyptian Goha for his own spin on the affable trickster. The story here is much more fully developed than the usually small Hodja/Goha episodes. In spite of Joha's angry efforts to rid himself of the troublesome stick, it tightly adheres to his hand, causing much worse trouble when he encounters the sultan in the streets of Baghdad. Kimmel's well-paced text smoothly builds events and dialogue, leaving the character interpretation to the comic portrayals in Rayyan's energetic watercolors. Joha is a small man with large hands and feet and a long, thin expressive face beneath a generous turban. His frayed sandals and patched trousers contrast with the splendor of the robust sultan and his armored guards. Joha's misadventures and the trouble he causes the sultan depart liberally from their folklore and cultural roots but offer an enjoyable escapade demonstrating that universal scheme of the unwitting little guy getting the better of those in power. The wishing scheme and fulsome pictures promise read-aloud fun.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

School Library Journal

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