Denys Johnson-Davies, The World's Greatest Traveler: Ibn Battouta ; The Cat and the Artist ; Acrobats in Marrakesh ; Tales of Thieves and Robbers ; Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves ; Zeinab the Beautiful ; The Companions of The Prophet Muhammad ; Cairo: Sunflower Books, Dar el-Shurouk, 2003-2004 This Sunflower Books series of children's books on Arab themes and stories from the Arabian Nights retold by the distinguished Arabist Denys Johnson- Davies offers sardonically funny views of life in Arab countries and of life in the mediaeval Arab world. The books also prove that relaying historical information to children does not have to be a dull exercise, for Johnson-Davies's collection succeeds brilliantly in retrieving the past for children in a reader-friendly and eye- catching manner. Indeed, this delightful collection has been written and illustrated in a fashion that does not permit children's eyes to glaze over at any of the historical details. The books also read remarkably well aloud, and there is a mirthful quality in them that shines through all these texts, even when they are tackling the most serious subjects. Including pulse-pounding historical accounts, tales of the unexpected, and biographies of Arab figures for beginners, the series contains tales that should create lifetime readers, and there are plenty of villains in them to pique the interest of young readers. Too often, today's younger readers swim in a sea of information from sources other than books: the Internet, for example, is very popular with children, and many youngsters sometimes prefer to watch their favourite stories on video, rather than have them read aloud to them. Indeed, traditional bedtime reading, which has held children spellbound for generations, is a fast-disappearing ritual. Nevertheless, for younger children especially, it is still as important a fixture of every evening as homework, and books of the quality of these by Johnson- Davies can be considered good teaching aides. In addition, for adults, especially teachers and parents, the books in the Sunflower Books series are good-to-browse introductions to the cultures and traditions of the Arab peoples. Set in a range of Arab countries, including Syria, the Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq, travel is a common theme of the stories, and mediaeval epics, adventure sagas, and plenty of illustrations animate the books. Traditional characters are also presented in an authentic and sensitive fashion. The volume entitled The World's Greatest Traveler: Ibn Battouta is a good example of how Johnson-Davies has been able to create a vivid sense in the books of significant Arab historical characters. Biographies of this sort provide a way of "personalising" history for children, bringing it closer to their concerns. The mediaeval Moroccan writer Ibn Battouta had a consuming interest in travel, driving him to spend his life traveling around the then known world in an effort to discover and chronicle it for those around him. His passion allowed mediaeval readers to sample some of the diverse cultures of the mediaeval world, and, in Johnson-Davies's recreation of his travels for children we are presented with both a delightful story, finely illustrated, and a genuine lesson in history and geography. "In an age when there were no cars, buses, trains or steamers, let alone aeroplanes, Ibn Battouta covered the enormous distance of some 75,000 miles in conditions of extreme danger and discomfort," writes Denys Johnson-Davies in his introduction. Based on Ibn Battouta's wanderings, the book is an excellent introduction to the peoples who inhabit Africa, Asia and the Arab world, and, like many of the other works in the series, Ibn Battouta encourages children to become aware of other places, times and lives. Containing much information about the places the historical Ibn Battouta travelled to, including Arabia, Iraq, Persia, India, Indonesia, and, his favourite, China, the book records how he was especially impressed with the Chinese artisans he saw, who produced goods that were exported to the rest of the world. He was astonished at the quality of Chinese pottery, calling it "the finest of all," but he was less enthused about Chinese culinary habits. Nevertheless, the chickens in China, he tells us, were "bigger than geese in Morocco." Ibn Battouta was also impressed by Chinese paper money and by Chinese painting. China was the "safest of countries for a traveler," he says. In contrast to this historical volume, The Cat and the Artist in the same series is a playful and charming picture book depicting the life and times of a contemporary Moroccan cat. Illustrated by Italian artist Ruggero Giangiacomi, who now resides in the Moroccan seaside town of Essaouira, where the story is set, the book sheds much light on feline priorities. Johnson-Davies explains that, on holiday in Essaouira, he met Giangiacomi, and it was from this meeting that the idea of the book was born. In his narrative, Johnson-Davies draws on the Arab tradition of animal fables, unveiling the inner lives of animals and showing how they understand where humans do not. Both Giangiacomi and Johnson-Davies have an eye for the detail of their subjects' lives, both human and feline, describing the rhythms of life in a sleepy Moroccan village, and the relationship between man and his fellow creatures, in an attractive and interesting way that will surely fascinate young readers. In Acrobats in Marrakesh, the British author and Italian artist have again collaborated, this time using the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, one of the world's most beautiful with its unique Moorish architecture and dramatic mountainous backdrop, as the setting for a tale of acrobats and intrigue. Other books introduce children to other Arab cities, countries and cultures. The historical books in the series, such as Tales of Thieves and Robbers and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, based on the tales of the Arabian Nights, will also attract children's curiosity, and they also make excellent material for reading aloud. Typical here is the volume entitled Zeinab the Beautiful, a tale of love and hope in which Johnson-Davies has ingeniously caught much of the unique appeal of Arabia. The Companions of the Prophet Muhammad tells the story of the birth of Islam in a way that will appeal to young readers and to parents wishing to reinforce in their children the truths of the Arab heritage. Characters in this book include the Prophet's Abyssinian wet-nurse Barakah, Bilal, the first muezzin, or caller to prayer in Islam, the Prophet's uncle Hamzah, Salman Al-Farisi, a Persian slave freed by the Prophet who was the first person to translate the Qur'an from Arabic into a foreign tongue, and Abu Hurayrah, who committed more of the hadith, or Sayings of the Prophet, to memory than any other of the Prophet's companions. Finally, these books, appealing to children and adults alike, show Denys Johnson-Davies on fine form, their being both reliable and attractive as one would expect from an author who has made Egypt his home and has perhaps done more than anyone to make Egyptian and Arab literature known and appreciated in the English-speaking world. Johnson- Davies first came to Egypt in 1945, when he taught at what was then Fouad I University, now Cairo University, on the then princely sum of 39 Egyptian pounds a month and developed a love of the country and a fascination with its folklore, customs and traditions. This love is reflected in Johnson-Davies's previous books about the adventures of Goha, a figure from Egyptian folklore, as well as in the present Sunflower series. The Goha books, short, easily read aloud, and accessible to children from early childhood upwards, also contain sprightly illustrations, and they too should give rise to new generations of enthusiastic readers. From them, and from the books in the Sunflower series, young Arab readers will learn of the beauty and variety of their cultural heritage. And that might be taken as the series' main point. By Gamal Nkrumah
