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The House of Wisdom
Ishaq, the son of the chief translator to the Caliph of ancient Baghdad, travels the world in search of precious books and manuscripts and brings them back to the great library known as the House of Wisdom. 15,000 first printing.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 1999
About the author
Florence Parry Heide
124 books39 followers"What do I like about writing for children? Everything," says Florence Parry Heide, the award-winning author of more than sixty children’s books, including the classic THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN, illustrated by Edward Gorey. "I like the connection with children," the author says. "I like the connection with all kinds of book people. And I like the connection with my childhood self, which is the most of me. It is the most welcome and familiar of worlds. There miracles abound--indeed it is magical that something I might think of can be put into words, stories, ideas, and that those words end up in the heads of readers I will never meet."
Florence Parry Heide wrote SOME THINGS ARE SCARY, a humorous look at childhood bugaboos, more than thirty years ago. "I had finished another book and was in the mood to write something else," she says. "I decided to get some kindling from the garage, reached into the kindling box and--good grief!--grabbed something soft and mushy. I fled back to the house, scared to death." A brave return visit to the kindling box revealed the object of terror to be nothing more than a discarded wet sponge, but the thought remained: some things are scary. As she recalls, "What scared me as a child was that I’d never learn how to be a real grownup--and the fact is, I never did find out how it goes."
One thing Florence Parry Heide does have a good handle on is the concept of friendship, in all its humorous manifestations. THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, a tongue-in-cheek tale cowritten with Sylvia Van Clief in 1967, pokes at the tendency of well-meaning friends to offer advice instead of help, and presents a valuable lesson about what true friendship means. "One of my many (true) sayings is ‘A new friend is around the corner of every single day,’ " the author declares. "Also true: Friendships last. And last."
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Florence Parry Heide worked in advertising and public relations in New York City before returning to Pittsburgh during World War II. After the war, she and her husband moved to Wisconsin, where they raised five children, two of whom have cowritten critically acclaimed books with their mother. Florence Parry Heide now lives in Wisconsin.
Florence Parry Heide wrote SOME THINGS ARE SCARY, a humorous look at childhood bugaboos, more than thirty years ago. "I had finished another book and was in the mood to write something else," she says. "I decided to get some kindling from the garage, reached into the kindling box and--good grief!--grabbed something soft and mushy. I fled back to the house, scared to death." A brave return visit to the kindling box revealed the object of terror to be nothing more than a discarded wet sponge, but the thought remained: some things are scary. As she recalls, "What scared me as a child was that I’d never learn how to be a real grownup--and the fact is, I never did find out how it goes."
One thing Florence Parry Heide does have a good handle on is the concept of friendship, in all its humorous manifestations. THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, a tongue-in-cheek tale cowritten with Sylvia Van Clief in 1967, pokes at the tendency of well-meaning friends to offer advice instead of help, and presents a valuable lesson about what true friendship means. "One of my many (true) sayings is ‘A new friend is around the corner of every single day,’ " the author declares. "Also true: Friendships last. And last."
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Florence Parry Heide worked in advertising and public relations in New York City before returning to Pittsburgh during World War II. After the war, she and her husband moved to Wisconsin, where they raised five children, two of whom have cowritten critically acclaimed books with their mother. Florence Parry Heide now lives in Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 4, 2019
I loved it! The artwork made me feel as if I were in a great library, and the thought of traveling the world to get books - amazing!
January 20, 2015
This story is based on a true story of a young boy named Ishaq. Ishaq was the son of a great translator in Baghdad, a city that held the great House of Wisdom. This house held thousands of books from all across the world. There scholars such as Ishaq's father Hunayn translated the great works into Arabic. All in the hope to further educate the people and themselves to be full of the knowledge of the past. Ishaq decided he wished to be a scholar also, the story takes the reader on a journey with Ishaq discover more books that will be translated and further explored upon.
-Because this story is based on a true story it allows the reader to be transported in time to a time before the whole world knew of the brilliant adventures that reading could bring. The story allows us to explore the House of Wisdom and uncover the true reason on how we all were able to really discover the joy and knowledge reading can bring.
- The illustrations help to bring in the pieces of the story. In the story it talks of the beauty of the sights and all of the books to behold, all of these which only one can imagine. These illustrations truly bring the ancient culture alive. The history of this true story is so long ago that putting it in a children's book allows children to feel connected to the world around them.
This book has delivered such a powerful understanding of the beauty of reading and the joy that it can bring to so many people. To have it all put in a such a small amount of pages and put at a level for children to understand, is amazing all in its own. I truly enjoyed this book and would read it again not only to myself but to those around me. It really is a book for all to enjoy.
The House of Wisdom
-Because this story is based on a true story it allows the reader to be transported in time to a time before the whole world knew of the brilliant adventures that reading could bring. The story allows us to explore the House of Wisdom and uncover the true reason on how we all were able to really discover the joy and knowledge reading can bring.
- The illustrations help to bring in the pieces of the story. In the story it talks of the beauty of the sights and all of the books to behold, all of these which only one can imagine. These illustrations truly bring the ancient culture alive. The history of this true story is so long ago that putting it in a children's book allows children to feel connected to the world around them.
This book has delivered such a powerful understanding of the beauty of reading and the joy that it can bring to so many people. To have it all put in a such a small amount of pages and put at a level for children to understand, is amazing all in its own. I truly enjoyed this book and would read it again not only to myself but to those around me. It really is a book for all to enjoy.
The House of Wisdom
November 20, 2019
The House of Wisdom is a really interesting story with a unique perspective. The book is set in about A.D. 830 in Baghdad, Iraq. In the western world, most of Europe, this was during the Dark Ages. But for the Arabic speaking world, a vast empire of great civilizations filled with literature, universities, and educated people was thriving. The House of Wisdom, a library and learning institution, was built, and became a place where scholars could preserve intellectual contributions of the ancient world, such as books and other pieces of history. Islam was on the forefront of education and discovery, which I feel is often a lost part of history, especially the history that is taught to American elementary students. This is a great book not only to include diversity in the classroom, especially for those students who might have a cultural background related to this story, but also could be used in many different kinds of lessons. It could be integrated into historical lessons about the dark ages in Europe versus the golden age in Islam, or could simply be read aloud to students to expose them to another worldly culture with which they might not be familiar. I also feel like, with America's recent history and tensions with Iraq, that Iraqi history is not painted in the best light for American students. This book gives a bright and glowing perspective on the beautiful history and talent of the people who made up the advanced culture of scholars in this area thousands of years ago.
November 28, 2011
The House of Wisdom is a book set in ninth-century Baghdad about a boy who lives in a library, which is also a palace considered the center of Baghdad, and they referred to it as the house of wisdom. The main character, Ishaq, was fascinated by books, as was his father, and they both idolized Aristotle. Ishaq made the decision that he wanted to be a "man of learning". He studies books for years and finally he is called to lead an expedition to search for books and he travels the world. He returns home and realized that what his father had told him, "we are like leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns" meant that, just like he was modeling after Aristotle who lived thousands of years before he did, someone in the future could possible model after him.
The illustrations in this book are amazing and detailed. It gives the book a rustic feel and it compliments the calm tone of the story. At the end of the book there is a brief history of the time period and a map which could be helpful to the reader. Since the story is set in an ancient time and references to many historical icons, it makes an excellent read for children because it is interesting as well as educational. I really enjoyed reading this.
Genre: Books about Readers and Reading
The illustrations in this book are amazing and detailed. It gives the book a rustic feel and it compliments the calm tone of the story. At the end of the book there is a brief history of the time period and a map which could be helpful to the reader. Since the story is set in an ancient time and references to many historical icons, it makes an excellent read for children because it is interesting as well as educational. I really enjoyed reading this.
Genre: Books about Readers and Reading
May 11, 2020
Just have the copy - Marvelous :)
March 1, 2021
The illustrations, although good in quality, don’t present a Muslim-Arab backdrop.. and instead show a biblical Christian-nativity backdrop of characters and setting. I also felt that the focus in the book highlighted the glory of Aristotle and Ancient Greece more than anything else. It kind of reminds me of a post of I’ve seen about how Westerners anglicize Muslims in history who are considered ‘good and successful’ and depict them with more European facial features.
This book is not how I would introduce the House of Wisdom to people.
This book is not how I would introduce the House of Wisdom to people.
April 26, 2008
Read this to a fifth grade class--it tells of Bagdad in the 9th century before Europe was awakened and a boy's quest for knowlwdge and how he finds it in books and the library was the House of Wisdom! Very timely considering the state of Bagdad now.
December 16, 2017
I always get excited when I find a well-written picture book for older kids. This is certainly one of them. Based on history, this is the story of 9th century Baghdad and its books, libraries, scholars, and inquisitive minds. I love that it points out that at this time areas to the west (Europe) were basically uneducated and, perhaps, crude. And when talking about scholars, like Aristotle, coming a thousand years before, the father tells his son, "We are like the leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns." What a great quote!
August 12, 2020
This was a delight to read and view. Intended for young readers (it looks like a children's picture book), the content is historical. The magnificent illustrations add so much to the words. Even the paper on which it is printed adds to the beauty of the book. Somehow the paper makes the illustrations sparkle. It was fascinating to learn of the collection of books in Baghdad, around A. D. 830. Are there remnants of the House of Wisdom or any of its books? I wonder.
September 18, 2021
A beautifully written and illustrated children's book about the library in Babylon and Ishaq, who is sent on a journey to acquire books for the library. This rich story shares more than just a historical perspective, but the contributions of the peoples and cultures of the Middle East to civilization.
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July 14, 2025Not SLQB.
Interesting, scholars in Baghdad, learning over a lifetime. Problem is when son Ishaq ventures west, "where the barbarians are," with no explanation of who these people are and what makes them "barbarians." Seems to be Africa generally. Did not like illustrations, which have Disney Aladin feel.
Interesting, scholars in Baghdad, learning over a lifetime. Problem is when son Ishaq ventures west, "where the barbarians are," with no explanation of who these people are and what makes them "barbarians." Seems to be Africa generally. Did not like illustrations, which have Disney Aladin feel.
November 9, 2022
We rate children's books for virtue, language, story, and beauty and flag content advisories when needed.
Read more at MindfulMuslimReader.com.
“Books Worth Reading”
Read more at MindfulMuslimReader.com.
“Books Worth Reading”
November 16, 2018
A gorgeously illustrated book which presents the House of Wisdom in medieval Baghdad. This is an excellent introduction for children on the story of the intellectual history of the world.
March 11, 2021
Beautiful illustration. I felt as if I was part of the story. The visuals helped me visualize the story as if I was part of it. I highly recommend it specially for children
September 30, 2024
This book is so beautifully written.
January 20, 2016
In this beautifully written book by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland, young Ishaq is intrigued by the events that go on where he lives, Baghdad. He is a boy of curiosity and has a great desire to learn. He spends his days exploring the many rooms in the castle where he lives and examining the hundreds of books that line the shelves. The book discusses the power and growth of Baghdad and most importantly, the importance of books and translating adventures and stories. People from all over the world send books and manuscripts, all sorts of stories to be translated in the great city of Baghdad. At the time the center is booming with growth and excitement and Ishaq cannot wait to be a part of all the hustle and bustle. Ishaq soon discovers that he wants to follow in his father's footsteps and Aristotle's and become a man of learning. Ishaq takes the time to study hard to pursue his dream of becoming like his father. Even though Ishaq was more than thrilled when he was chosen by the Caliph to lead an expedition and finally adventure out into the world, after many years of hard work and studying, he longed for home. The events that happen once Ishaq goes back home most definitely make this book a must read. Another plus of the book is that it had excellent use of adjectives and descriptive words that really brought the book to life and created a world of imagination. The beautiful quote that was used in the book, "We are like leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns" shows the true depth of the relationship between a father and his son and the common interests they share. The illustrations were beautiful and abstract and the book mentions a lot of new places around the world which is enticing for kids to learn about. This true story is one that I would recommend to any child that is interested in the art of reading and adventure.
maybe
January 2, 2023Overall, this is a wonderful and uplifting book with colorful illustrations & lyrical prose. Look forward to sharing it with my son.
Docked one star for a couple of small problems which, in a vacuum, would be barely noticeable and certainly not showstopper issues. However, they are common problems in kid lit and parents / teachers will want to counter them via plenty of other stories which don't include the same messaging.
1) This passage which reinforces the misconception of homogenous Africa whilst emphasizing cultural variety of nations elsewhere in a smaller area of land mass:
2) There is a repeated idea in the book that people across hundreds of generations still have much in common: "We are like leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns." Lovely! Really lovely. The trouble is that final usage of this phrase, on the final spread of the story, shows many leaves in a timeline: one for Egypt, one for Africa (here we are again), Babylonia, India, China, Greece, Rome, etc. All leaves floating through time... until it culminates in the flower -- not leaf! -- of The Renaissance.
I'm not suggesting skip this book. There is so much lovely and important here in terms of core values, not to mention providing some positive content about Islam and Iraq that isn't remotely connected to somebody overcoming adversity.
Just best to prepare with intent some other stuff for the kids to consume, too. Africa is not a country and the European Renaissance was not, I think, the pinnacle of humanity's millennia. It certainly wasn't the end of our timeline!
Docked one star for a couple of small problems which, in a vacuum, would be barely noticeable and certainly not showstopper issues. However, they are common problems in kid lit and parents / teachers will want to counter them via plenty of other stories which don't include the same messaging.
1) This passage which reinforces the misconception of homogenous Africa whilst emphasizing cultural variety of nations elsewhere in a smaller area of land mass:
It seemed that all the world came there to buy and sell. Ishaq watched the crowds of people from faraway places with curiosity: Russian traders in fur caps, Indians in white dhotis, Turks in billowing pantaloons, Africans in brilliant orange robes.
2) There is a repeated idea in the book that people across hundreds of generations still have much in common: "We are like leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns." Lovely! Really lovely. The trouble is that final usage of this phrase, on the final spread of the story, shows many leaves in a timeline: one for Egypt, one for Africa (here we are again), Babylonia, India, China, Greece, Rome, etc. All leaves floating through time... until it culminates in the flower -- not leaf! -- of The Renaissance.
I'm not suggesting skip this book. There is so much lovely and important here in terms of core values, not to mention providing some positive content about Islam and Iraq that isn't remotely connected to somebody overcoming adversity.
Just best to prepare with intent some other stuff for the kids to consume, too. Africa is not a country and the European Renaissance was not, I think, the pinnacle of humanity's millennia. It certainly wasn't the end of our timeline!
March 22, 2013
This is a terrific picture book for children. I just happened to enjoy it, too. I learned more about the House of Wisdom, this amazing museum and center of learning in Baghdad, Iraq. There is so much that we Americans fail to realize about the Middle East. One of them is what a priceless cultural and intellectual center Baghdad has been for centuries--not only for the Muslim community, but for the world. I remember hearing of the treasures that were stolen during the Iraqi wars. It was only a faint blip on my radar screen, until the boys and I decided to learn more about Baghdad and Islam this year in school. If you don't know much, this is a great place to start. If you know a lot already, this is a great book to revisit what you already know and share it with others.
January 23, 2024
House of Wisdom is an institution built in Baghdad in 830 A.D. by the Caliph al-Ma'mun. The story is told from the persepective of a boy, Ishaq bin hunain, who lives in the House of Wisdom with his scholar father. The house of wisdom contribute to the modern civilization and the story transports readers to the Islamic Empire, at a time of dramatic academic and cultural growth.
Grandpr 's (Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat) lushly colored pastels detail the ornate patterns of the Baghdad rooftops as easily as they convey the sweltering heat of a caravan of camels. A fitting homage to the quest for knowledge. Ages 4-7.
Grandpr 's (Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat) lushly colored pastels detail the ornate patterns of the Baghdad rooftops as easily as they convey the sweltering heat of a caravan of camels. A fitting homage to the quest for knowledge. Ages 4-7.
August 21, 2010
This is a children's picture book Beautiful illustrations! Not much story. There's a boy in Baghdad about a thousand years ago who lived in the library, which was a grand palace. His father worked there as a translator. Ishaq observed the scholars who seemed to enjoy reading and studying all those books. The books were brought in from all over the world! Thus, Badhdad's palace library was known as "The House of Wisdom".
September 27, 2013
I loved this book. It is the true story of a boy from ninth-century Baghdad whose passion to understand the power of words led him on a journey to secure books for the House of Wisdom, a house of learning.
There were all kinds of books for scholarly intrigue available at that time and the same challenge beckons us today. We should be searching for our own House of Wisdom and willing to build our own house of learning.
The illustrations are large and loud, but wonderful.
There were all kinds of books for scholarly intrigue available at that time and the same challenge beckons us today. We should be searching for our own House of Wisdom and willing to build our own house of learning.
The illustrations are large and loud, but wonderful.
May 18, 2008
In 9th century A.D. Baghdad Ishaq travels and brings back books for the library called the House of the Wisdom. This story is centered around a real historic setting, where Baghdad was the center for learning. Beautiful cray-pas illustrations mirror Ishaq’s enthusiasm for his task.
Positively reviewed in SLJ and Booklist.
Positively reviewed in SLJ and Booklist.
February 27, 2016
I'm a sucker for books about books or libraries, and this one didn't disappoint. While Europe was stumbling around in the Dark Ages, Iraq was the centre of an Islamic Empire of education, science, philosophy and medicine; it's always good to see the history of the world from the other side to realise that we in the West aren't masters of the universe.
August 20, 2009
This is a really interesting story about 9th century Baghdad, with fascinating illustrations, to boot! Considering how so much of the current news about Baghdad is war-related, it was a delight to read this story about the "House of Wisdom!"
February 17, 2011
Mommy says: A bit serious for a 6yo boy, but this book is an outstanding, relatively child-friendly view of the immense scholarly tradition of the Arab world. They didn't call it the Cradle of Civilization for nothing.
February 17, 2011
This children's picture book is a bit serious for a 6yo boy, but this book is an outstanding, relatively child-friendly view of the immense scholarly tradition of the Arab world. They didn't call it the Cradle of Civilization for nothing.
September 17, 2014
Another great book. I wish there wasn't so many mentions of camels and sand, but that's just me being tired of that theme and the illustrations are gorgeous. It's a beautiful English introduction to بيت الحكمة, and very well researched.
August 6, 2014
This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Ishaq, the son of the chief translator to the Caliph of ancient Baghdad, who travels the world in search of precious books and manuscripts and brings them back to the great library known as the House of Wisdom.
September 7, 2015
Book is the most valuable thing over gold and jewel. We can contact a person who lived long time ago and gain various ideas through books. This book describes a journey for getting books in A.D. 830, and tries to tell us that books are the source of wisdom.
April 30, 2017
What else could it be but a library?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews