A Gift for the King: A Persian Tale
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- This retelling of a 2,000-year-old Persian folk tale has the straightforward clarity of one of Aesop's fables. When incredibly wealthy King Artaxerxes takes a walk into the desert, his subjects strew his way with luxuries. But the only gift that gives him pleasure is a cool drink of water when he is thirsty. In the course of illustrating this wholesome message, Manson gives his readers page after page of lavish animated scenes, apparently derived from ancient Persian wall carvings, which depict in glorious detail the tempting self-indulgence of the king's life before he stumbles into the moral. While there is neither the archeological thoroughness nor the artistic integration of text and illustrations which is found in the earlier retelling of mid-Eastern legend in Bernarda Bryson's Gilgamesh (Holt, 1967; o.p.), Manson's work is for younger readers and does a lively job of giving a sense of ancient times. The text has a pleasant rhythm which begs to be read aloud. As in Linda Shute's Momotaro the Peach Boy (Lothrop, 1986), this story is enhanced by a small source section at the end which gives more detail of life at that place and time. A simple story, well told and satisfying. --Sally T. Margolis, formerly at The Newport Schools, Kensington, MDCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.