Amoo Norooz and Other Persian Folk Stories
Gr 2-4-Four tales previously published separately are now brought together into one volume. An introduction by the editor provides both useful information and unnecessary summaries of the stories. The first story concerns the Persian New Year as personified by a man named Amoo Norooz. An old woman waits to see him as he arrives but falls asleep, missing her chance to restore her youth. The tale is competently told and the colorful illustrations, done in fabric collage accented with ink, are quirky and intriguing. The rich and textured paintings for "The Tale of Ringy" far outshine the singsong text replete with forced rhymes about a bird who takes a cotton ball to a spinner, a weaver, a dyer, and a tailor. "The Crystal Flower and the Sun" is an oddly poignant story about a crystal flower that emerges from the ice at the North Pole, attracted by the sun's light. The sun spends six months telling the flower about the world, and when he is ready to move on, the flower goes with him. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations capture the mood of the tale. "Bastoor," a story about a boy who takes on an army in order to avenge his father's death, is fairly well told, although the ending, in which he goes from boy to man overnight, is just plain strange. In addition, the illustrations are a bit on the muddy side. Overall quality is uneven, but the book is suitable for those seeking to broaden their folklore collections.-Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster Area Library, PACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.