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Ages 6 9. Inspired by a tale from the Sufi poet Rumi, this elegant, unusual story begins when young Jehan wakes up one morning in Baghdad and cannot find her smile. Her father asks the wise hoopoe bird what to do. It suggests that Jehan will smile again when great artists paint pictures for her. Italian and Chinese painters come, but though Jehan finds their art beautiful, she cannot smile. Then the hoopoe brings a young Persian. The Persian brings forth a sandalwood scraper from his bag and asks Jehan to help him smooth the wall. As the wall begins to glow under their hands, Jehan saw that its beauty had always been there. It had just been waiting for her to uncover it, and she smiles again. In airbrushed colors, the illustrations are combinations of geometric forms Jehan's head is a circle and her lips a perfect ruby heart. Persian windows, Jehan's turbaned father, and the gaudily crested hoopoe evoke the locale. GraceAnne DeCandido
ISBN: 1890817171
Author: Karim Alrawi, Stefan Czemecki (Illustrator), Strfan Czerneck (Illustrator)
Category: Children
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