Nasreddine

by Odile Weulersse, Rébecca Dautremer (Illustrator)

Overview

It's time to go to market, so Nasreddine loads up the donkey and sets off with his father. But when onlookers criticize his father for riding while Nasreddine walks, the boy is ashamed. The following week, Nasreddine persuades his father to walk, and let him ride — but then people criticize the boy for making his father walk! No matter what Nasreddine tries, it seems that someone always finds something to disapprove of.

Nasreddine is a legendary character popular in stories told throughout the Middle East, and this clever story will bring him to a new audience. Accompanied by stunning artwork, this tale offers a gentle reminder to readers that it isn't always necessary to listen to the world's criticisms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467463867
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/06/2021
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	36
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

About the Author

Odile Weulersse is a French author who has written numerous books for children, many of them focused on retelling old legends and stories for a young audience. The hardcover edition of Nasreddine received an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society and was named an IBBY Honor Book for Translation. Odile lives in France and teaches film at the Sorbonne.

Rébecca Dautremer is a French illustrator who has brought many stories to life with her rich and whimsical art, including The Secret Lives of Princesses (Sterling) and Swing Café (The Secret Mountain). Visit her website at rebeccadautremer.com or follow her on Instagram @rebeccadautremer.
 Odile Weulersse is a French author who has written numerous books for children, many of them focused on retelling old legends and stories for a young audience. The hardcover edition of Nasreddine received an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society and was named an IBBY Honor Book for Translation. Odile lives in France and teaches film at the Sorbonne.

Editorial Reviews

AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS
 
2014 Paterson Prize Honor Book
Society of Illustrators, "The Original Art" annual exhibition (2013)
International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), Honor Book for Translation (2013)

Young Children
"Features the kind of cleverness and complex characters that make children's literature so worthwhile."

Publishers Weekly
"Dautremer's evocative spreads of Middle Eastern marketplace life lend a meditative air to French author Weulersse's version of an ancient tale."

The Wall Street Journal
"Nasreddine captures the age-old struggle to understand where wisdom lies, a process leavened here by Rebecca Dautremer's distinctive and textured comic illustration. . . . Delivered with humor and warmth, it is a lesson that not only children will appreciate."

Montreal Gazette
"Once in a while a book comes along that still manages to share a valuable lesson. Nasreddine is such a one."

The Horn Book Magazine
"An entertaining variant on a familiar tale."

School Library Journal
"A fine addition for most children's collections."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Nasreddine's adventures are likely to spark some thoughtful discussion among kids."

From the Publisher

The beloved character of Nasreddin Hodja is usually portrayed as a man in Turkish and Middle Eastern folklore, but here, the wise fool is a youngster. This story presents a series of scenarios in which Nasreddine changes his behavior after hearing judgments uttered by various onlookers. Nasreddine tries to help his father get their products to market on their donkey, but a vizier sees him following the donkey and insults them by saying that Mustafa should allow the boy to ride the donkey. When they change places on their next ride into town, old women decry the boy's selfish behavior. When Nasreddine decides that they should both ride, old men drinking frozen lemonade (what century is this?) are concerned about the animal. Children laugh at them when they allow the donkey to carry only watermelons while father and son both walk. With Mustafa's gentle teaching, the boy realizes that he alone must judge the validity of other people's criticisms. A little slower and more didactic than most Hodja stories, this may suffer from a stiff translation from the French original. The handsome watercolors, blending a timeless Turkish landscape with more contemporary-looking signs, exaggerate the difference between the tall, proud Mustafa and the tiny, embarrassed Nasreddine. This view of the Hodja as a child offers a different pathway into the popular stories. (historical note) (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews