Forty Fortunes: A Tale of Iran

By Aaron Shepard

Book Overview

The royal treasure has been stolen, and not even Iran's finest diviners can locate the forty fortunes. When the King turns to Ahmed to find the treasure, Ahmed is certain that he will be thrown in prison. Yes, he was able to locate a missing ring, but that was pure luck, and he knows that he has no real fortunetelling skills. He has only forty days to find the forty fortunes. Will he find a way to locate the treasure-and save himself-before the time is up? This retelling of a traditional Iranian folktale, charged with humor and action, is paired with fabulous jewel-toned illustrations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395811333
• ISBN13: 9780395811337
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.6" x 10.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Pleasant read and fun for the kids

This book is colorfully illustrated with lots of funny looking characters and is set in an enchanting city. The book is a pleasant read for kids at bedtime and I recommend it. It was a nice touch to see the page titled "how to say the names" with the phonetic equivalents written next to them - as we know many names can be mispronounced. However, it was disappointing to see that they made a typo on the phonetic equivalent word for IRAN! It says eer-ON instead of ee-RON. I hope they correct this mistake if there is a reprint.

Great folk story from an ancient land

Excellent English translation of the folk story. I have heard a couple of other versions of this story when I was growing up in Iran. It was a (very) pleasant surprise to see that the story has been translated. The illustrations are remarkable. You can see the old Persian architecture, the costumes, the robes and turbans, yet the characters are cartoonish and extremely funny. I hope to see more Persian folk stories by the author and illustrator.

Wonderful example of design and illustration

This book is wonderful. I love the way Alisher Dianov illustrates his childrens books. This book would be a fine addition to any library, child or adult.