Book Review - 55 Stories 4 Kids (Arabic)

Book Review 55 Stories 4 Kids -  Arabic Version, Author: Hasan Yahya, Ph.D, Createspace-Amazon (2008) $18.99.), 116 p. (Ages 3 – 12.

Prof. Yahya tops his books with this one which reflects some of his knowledge about best stories to make children learn and think to build certain ethics. Culturally the book presents various faraway lands stories, in simple Arabic language, to be used by parents and grandparents to narrate before sleeping, or any time of the day. A good gift for familial occasions. Families with kids from 3 to 12 years of age.   

The author starts the 55 stories with an introduction followed by The crow and the Duck, the Frog and Ox, the hare and the Tortoise tales and ends with The Hunter and his Dog, and  The Fox and the Grapes tales.  With this book, Yahya makes an important contribution to the development of a planetary consciousness so needed in these full of stress times searching for kids stories. Our children need literature to make their imagination travels easily and smoothly in the dream lives of the actors of the stories. The stories are fables collected and written in simple Arabic language to be read by parents and grandparents to their love ones. May be the most story telling appealing for kids. Professor Yahya in this book, is very influential in his style of narration. In his introduction Prof. Yahya described his purpose of writing the stories. He writes: “I have decided to do something in my old age, I tried to write the fable tales for my grandchildren to tell them before or after sleep. I collected anecdotes, first from what my grandma was telling me  about in my childhood, even though she was illiterate, like my grandpa, who used to tell us stories when he was in the army, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their tales still wandering in my imaginative side of my brain. Other tales I remember from my school curriculum, in my second to fifth grade. I also included tales from far away lands, like China, Persia, Rome,  Africa, and my-now-country, the United States. The literature is almost full of great writers, politicians, and teachers, who give examples when they talk or wrote, or describe, or explain. It is a wise method to use, to make people wonder, and begin to apply some ideas or thoughts to those who cannot-for any reason, mentally, or physically-understand. It  is the wisdom, old and new, in these fable tales, and anecdotes, which force me to write this number of fables and tales. I believe, literate, illiterate, or even highly educated anywhere on earth are in serious need to learn in order to live in peace.” I agree with the writer, in his sincere feelings working toward learning to promote peace in this world. In general the book was published twice in a short period. (493 words) www.dryahyatv.com