The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
Grade 5 Up.  Written over five centuries ago, these tales have survived over time as storytellers' favorites. Yeoman's first-person narration pretty much follows the standard Richard Burton translation and leads readers through Sinbad's seven shipwrecks while introducing them to the amazing inhabitants of the islands on which the sailor is inevitably stranded: sea-stallions; the giant Roc and diamond-protecting serpents; Cyclops-like giants; cannibals (and live-burial customs); the Old Man of the Sea with his lethal legs; the generous king of Sarandib; and monsters and the flying "brethren of the demons." In each formulaic tale, Sinbad loses everything, flirts with death, and ends up richer, more generous, and maybe even a bit wiser than before. All of the stories provide numerous opportunities for retelling?and embellishing?and thus gloriously display the storyteller's craft. This version makes excellent classroom reading and Blake's expressive line drawings and watercolors, about half of which are reproduced in black and white, lend a subtle wit, pathos, and determination to the remarkable revelations of this man of mysterious wealth. An excellent introduction to the "1001" tales that are filled with adventure, luck, ingenuity, and allegory.?John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TXCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.