The Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal

By Idries Shah

Book Overview

(Bilingual English-Dari edition) When a boy visits another village, he is amazed to find the people terrified of something that - just because they have not seen it before - they mistake for a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883536189
• ISBN13: 9781883536183
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Hoopoe Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.8" x 11.5"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Clever book

One of a series of children's picture books by Idries Shah, this one includes a Spanish version along side the English. It contains all the elements of a favorite children's book: Lavish illustrations, frequently repeated phrases and a child hero. But adults will enjoy the surprises, too, as the protagonist frightens those he's trying to help and other developments. The costumes tell the adults it's a tale from the Middle East, and the lesson is clear in these post 9/11 days. There may be help from sources we are afraid to investigate.

The Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal

The children in our preschool love books with big bold images, lots of strong colors, and a big surprise in the middle. This one is a perfect example. The children especially seem to delight in the idea of a little boy taking what the big people see as brave action in the face of their silly fear that only the little boy can see through. I highly recommend this one.

A Wonderful Children's Book

This beautifully illustrated book, part of a children's series by Idries Shah, is sure to delight kids and parents alike. Based on a tale told for centuries in Central Asia and the Middle East, it is about a boy who happens upon a village where the people are terrified of melons simply because they've never seen one before. In showing the villagers that their fears are unfounded, the boy teaches children some valuable lessons about fear. Yet unlike so many other children's books, THE CLEVER BOY AND THE TERRIBLE, DANGEROUS ANIMAL doesn't impose its lessons on the young reader, but instead gently offers them up to be digested and understood at the child's own pace. I wish there were more children's books like this one and the others in Shah's delightful series.

Childrens books by Idries Shah build mental agility

Tragedies like Columbine are a wake-up call. It's clear that we need to provide our kids - especially boys - with tools to counter the violence and knee-jerk aggression ubiquitous in popular culture. These children's stories by Idries Shah are just this kind of tool. They're not preachy. They don't offer simplistic lessons or moral platitudes. They're more like exercises for "mental muscle groups" grossly underdeveloped in this culture: A strong sense of one's own value. Empathy. Flexibility in thinking and responding. Appreciating that not everyone is the same, not every outcome is predictable. Seeing that there are more than two sides to a situation. A sense that patience and perseverance can pay off, sometimes in unexpected ways. Not demanding easy answers. A sense that things are not always as they seem, that the viewpoint of "experts" - or even the whole community - is not always right. The experience of seeing something that even adults don't see, of creating clever solutions. The sense that taking positive action is possible and rewarding-even when one has to buck the tide. That help can come from where and when we least expect it. The sense that life has interesting "loose ends" for us to reflect on. And so much more. At least one of these books should be on every child's book shelf.