Sindbad (English): From the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights

Zeman (The Last Quest of Gilgamesh) focuses primarily on the second voyage of Sindbad the Sailor for her retelling, which strikes the informal tone that Shahrazad might have adopted when she first relayed the adventures to King Shahriyar. But it's the illustrations that will carry the stories in readers' minds. Zeman sets the scene, explaining that Shahrazad told the 1,001 tales in order to save her life, but she pairs the information with a portrait of the king asleep on his bride's lap. In succeeding spreads, the artwork incorporates many motifs from Persian rugs: a border of exotic birds frames the meeting between Sindbad the Porter and Sindbad the Sailor; a background of hunters on horseback, foxes and prancing deer decorates the volume's most elegant painting, a portrait of the young Sindbad. A strong use of perspective emphasizes the sailor's precarious position when a vulture unwittingly saves Sindbad from the viper-filled Valley of Diamonds and drops him onto the branch of a tree atop a cliff. At times the integrity of the compositions founders due to bug-eyed caricatures of Sindbad and other characters. However, the volume ends on a note of strength with an ornate depiction of Sindbad the Porter's intimate audience with Sindbad the Sailor, and thus brings readers full circle to the importance and magic of storytelling. Ages 6-up. (Nov.)