arabic

Apricots Tomorrow

To understand a people, acquaint yourself with their proverbs’ runs an Arab adage, and here are the books that do just that. The popular Apricots Tomorrow, a selection of sayings from the Gulf region, is joined by sister titles The Son of a Duck is a Floater and Unload your own Donkey which draws on sayings from the Maghreb and Levant. Paralleling age-old Arabic sayings with English equivalents, the proverbs highlight the uncanny similarity of inherited wisdom in both East and West.

This book has been featured in our Middle East and South Asia Arabic Language and Culture Kit.

How Many Donkeys?: An Arabic Counting Tale

Jouha is loading his donkeys with dates to sell at the market. How many donkeys are there? His son helps him count ten, but once the journey starts, things change. First there are ten donkeys, then there are nine! When Jouha stops to count again, the lost donkey is back. What’s going on? Silly Jouha doesn’t get it, but by the end of the story, wise readers will be counting correctly – and in Arabic.

Seven Daughters and Seven Sons

In an ancient Arab nation, one woman dares to be different. Buran cannot — Buran will not-sit quietly at home and wait to be married to the man her father chooses. Determined to use her skills and earn a fortune, she instead disguises herself as a boy and travels by camel caravan to a distant city. There, she maintains her masculine disguise and establishes a successful business. The city’s crown prince comes often to her shop, and soon Buran finds herself falling in love. But if she reveals to Mahmud that she is a woman, she will lose everything she has worked for.

Moon without Magic

In this sequel to Wishing Moon, Aminah can’t believe her luck—or lack of it—when she discovers that the jinni’s lamp is missing. Somehow the bottle imp remains outside the lamp, devoid of his powers. In their search for the lamp, the girl and the helpless jinni have to rely on wit, bravery, and a bit of sorcery from an unexpected source in order to survive thieving bands, pirates, and their biggest challenge of all: Princess Badr, who seeks not only the lamp, but also revenge.