Goha The Wise Fool

by Denys Johnson-Davies, Hamdy Mohamed Fattouh (Illustrations), Hany El Saed Ahmed (Illustrations)

Meet Goha, that funny little man with the faithful donkey, whose tales, beloved for their wit and wisdom, have been passed down through the streets of the smallest villages of the Middle East for centuries. Meet Goha, who in making us laugh at him, shows us—young and old everywhere— that we can laugh at ourselves.

Collected by one of the Middle East’s most prestigious translators and illustrated in whimsical handsewn khimeyas, this is a joyful celebration of the best of Goha, one of folklore’s most unexpected and beloved heroes.

Genres: Picture Books, Cultural, Childrens, Folklore, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Middle East

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

Denys Johnson-Davies (Arabic: دنيس جونسون ديڤيز) (1922-2017) was an eminent Arabic-to-English literary translator who has translated, inter alia, several works by Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, Sudanese author Tayeb Salih, Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish and Syrian author Zakaria Tamer.

Davies, referred to as “the leading Arabic-English translator of our time” by the late Edward Said, has translated more than twenty-five volumes of short stories, novels, plays, and poetry, and was the first to translate the work of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. He is also interested in Islamic studies and is co-translator of three volumes of Prophetic Hadith. He has also written a number of children’s books adapted from traditional Arabic sources, including a collection of his own short stories, Fate of a Prisoner, which was published in 1999.

Born in 1922 in Vancouver Canada to English parentage, Davies spent his childhood in Sudan, Egypt, Uganda, and Kenya, and then was sent to England at age 12. Davies studied Oriental languages at Cambridge, and has lectured translation and English literature at several universities across the Arab World. In 2006, he published his memoirs. In 2007, he was awarded the Sheikh Zayed Book Award "Culture Personality of the Year", a valued at about $300,000.

Davies lives in and divides his time between Marrakesh and Cairo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denys_Jo...

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book includes some of the best stories of Goha, who is one of the Middle East's most renowned folktale characters. In my opinion, Goha accurately describes the sense of wit that a lot of my Middle Eastern friends possess; which I found extremely entertaining while reading this book.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cool and unique book! The illustrations are all hand-sewn tapestries which are so detailed and full of character. The stories themselves are hilarious, and thought provoking. I really enjoyed this!

Materials used: hand-sewn tapestries, known as khiyamiyas in Egypt
Typeface used: 16-pt. Mrs. Eaves

[Christine Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Approximate Interest Level/Reading Level: Elementary

Format: Chapter/Picture Book

Awards: ALA Notable Books for Children (2006)

Goha is a middle-aged hero that plays the fool, the wise man, or the trickster in many different folk tales originating in the Middle East. This book contains fourteen translations of these clever tales, accompanied by khiyamiyas, which are hand sewn tapestries made by Egyptian tentmakers. While the illustrations and folklore is abounding in Middle Eastern culture, the quick and witty tales definitely have universal appeal. This book would be a great read-aloud. The ending pages also add interest by relating the history of both Goha and the khiyamiyas.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories about Goha, a Middle Eastern legend who is sometimes a wise man, fool, or trickster. The stories typically have a lesson or moral and pretty funny. The author provides background information on Goha’s legend, and he is a part of many Middle Eastern cultures. What is truly stunning about this book is the art. Each story is depicted in a hand-sewn colorful tapestry by Hag Hamdy and Hany, a father –son duo who create these works of art in Cairo. The author explains that this craftwork is an ancient skill. The art is completely relevant to the story and reveals even more about the culture.

[Lneme2651ung.Edu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short folktales that are centered around Goha and have very easy to understand lessons and messages that can be learned. These folktales are from the middle east. I like this book because of how clever Goha is and how beautiful the illustrations are. This can be used to teach students about folk tales around the world.

[Brandy Gilbertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

15 short and witty stories. I found myself chuckling. May be more suitable for older kids who would understand the jokes and humor.

*Book from text

[Fred Dameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories for children. The story are humorous enough to make adults smile, yet simple enough for your kids, or grand kids to understand the message that Goha is talking making. Each story is a parable that takes a page or two and I think my granddaughter will be able to read each story to her younger brothers by end of the week. (She's seven.) Also coming from the Arab world the stories are more exotic than your basic kiddi lit and also have a more diverse cast than the basic U.S. kids work. (All the characters are Mid-Eastern and will add diversity to your house library.)

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goha IS quite wise. I loved his responses to many of these stories. The illustrations were fantastic - created by hand drawn characters sewn onto cloth. How amazing!

I love these sort of folktale stories that each culture seems to have. I find them quite fascinating. Goha may be one of my favorites

[charlene.librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I greatly appreciate the storytelling passed down through centuries and appreciate the same art of sewing the khiyamayas, I don't think the original art shows up well in the reproductions in the book.

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another set of wonderful stories of Hoja Nasrudin with remarkable illustrations.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely collection of tales and I thought the sewed illustrations an interesting addition.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations. Love the story about the thieves.

[Sara Hannon]

1. Folk tale/Traditional Literature, picture book

2. Goha the Wise Fool is a collection of folk tales from the Middle East that are entertaining and also teach a lesson. Goha at times plays a fool, a wise man, or a trickster depending on the what the story needs.

3. Possibly the greatest aspect of the book, other than the stories being entertaining and clever, are the illustrations. Instead of drawing or painting, the book uses hand-sewn khiyamiyas, which are like tapestries that tell a story. These illustrations are very clearly not painted or drawn, they are sewn. They may not have the detail of a Jerry Pinkney book or be painterly and a bit abstract, but they lend a sense of timeless realism to the stories. Goha stories have been told and retold for hundreds of years, and stories used to be passed down orally and in sewing. The background is simple, the shapes are simple, and yet they perfectly compliment each story. And while the characters may look similar, they are different enough that we get a good, accurate depiction of each separate character and we can follow from one page to the next and we know who Goha is in each illustration. The use of the khiyamiyas give the story a sense of provenance. That refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object, in this case a set of stories about a fool/wise man/trickster named Goha. While the khiyamiyas were made specifically for this story, they were made by tentmakers in Cairo. The character of Goha originated in the Middle East and those in Cairo have heard the stories that have been passed down for generations.

4. This story was a really neat look at another culture. It is funny, and most importantly, it teaches valuable lessons. While my favorite was the Goha Counts His Donkeys, the one I think could be used the most in a classroom setting would be Goha Gives His Son a Lesson About Life. This is a really visual, straightforward lesson on how you can not base your life and your decisions and worry about what others think of you. As Goha points out, you will never be able to please everybody and in the end you look foolish. It is a really good lesson for students to learn, because peer pressure is a major factor in their adolescent lives.

[Annie Zuckerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goha the Wise Fool is a book filled with a series of Tales about an old man named Goha. Each tale takes place in a small town in the Middle East and each one has a different lesson that accompanies it. Goha a wise, old man that is witty and humorous loves to play tricks on people and outsmart other such as robbers. The tales depict various cultural aspects of the Middle East in an informal way. The use of short tales allows the reader to gain various perspectives and ideas about the culture as well as Goha as a character. The morals of the tales range from respect to thankfulness and are told with different characters and settings. Author, Denys Johnson-Davies, does a great job of delivering a sense of culture and education into a collection of short tales that are young reader friendly. Though the language of this book is simple, it appropriately caters to the preferred audience and manages to create imaginative scenes that allow the reader to immerse him or herself into the story.

This book could easily be used in an elementary classroom to help teach students about the idea of multiculturalism and the traditions/folk tales of the Middle East. Goha the Wise Fool teaches cultural aspects of this area in a way that students will likely understand easier than simply reading information from a textbook. This region of the world is one that students likely have not spent much time focusing on. However, in order to promote and educate students on the concept of multiculturalism, the Middle East should be one of the cultures studied.

[Nyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories make me laugh, bang my head on a wall, and congratulate Goha on all his conquests. A book that creates that many reactions is a good book in my book. While the pictures are simple, they don’t need to be more than they are. This is because each story is short as well. They pictures are so cleverly crafted that they almost tell the whole story themselves. For example, the story about two thieves and Goha is well illustrated by the two arguing, and Goha slightly away from them. That was a time I congratulated Goha. However, when a thief robs him because he is silent, I wanted to bang my head against a wall. It is one, small errand to feed his animal, but Goha refuses to speak so ardently that he is robbed of everything! I could never understand forgoing something so simple… Of course, everything was a worldly good, and I suppose that can be a good lesson to children. However, I would want them to focus on other stories. For example: the story of Goha and the bath house, or the story of Goha trying to please everyone. There is a uniqueness to this book that can’t be explained simply…

[Chelsey Stotler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goha is a well-known character in many countries. It is unknown where Goha originated. He has a different name in all countries but one thing stays true and that is his sometimes wise, foolish, and trickster personality. Goha, the wise fool is Egypt’s version of the foolish man. The stories of Goha have been passed down by word of mouth and have now turned into a lovely storybook with over fifteen short stories altogether. The stories of Goha are insightful, funny, and interesting to read. Although many of the tales told in this story were a little funny, this story book did not do much for me. I appreciated the hand-sewn tapestries, known as khiyamiryas, which made up the illustrations in this story. I don't think that I would use this book in a classroom because the stories told do not have much of a connect between any certain culture.

[Carla Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goha is the main character from oral tradition and folktales in the Middle East. In the collection of stories the reader follows Goha through different situations which always manage to have a peculiar ending.
This collection of stories was really interesting, and provides the reader with a different outlook on situations and problems, even though some of the stories can take the reader considerable amount of time to discern why Goha did things a particular way or what the moral was supposed to be. The illustrations are carefully hand-stitched fabric and were able to easily summarize one of the stories so easily. The stories were able to deliver morals appropriate for people all ages.

[Yahya Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of fifteen tales about the folk hero Nasreddin Hoca, also known as Goha, a man with a reputation for being able to answer difficult questions in a clever way. The stories read like a comedian's monologue, many funny stories and issues as Goha's arguments with his insufferable wife, his encounters with unfamiliar settings and people, and his concerns with thieves. Many of the tales expose familiar human foibles, as when Goha repurchases his own mule after listening to a dealer's glowing, exaggerated sales pitch for the beast.

[Carly Noyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved how humorous this story was. It tells the stroy of main character Goha, a Middle Eastern man, and tells the tales of him encountering dangerous situations. Goha finds his way out of trouble by outwitting thieves and other "bad guy". This book tells the tales of stories that have been passed down through generations by word of mouth.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The donkey story near the end stood out to me -- what a great lesson in the reality that you can't please everybody. There were other stories that were entertaining, and I felt they were presented in a way that made it okay to laugh at a Goha. Some seemed pointless to me, but I'm having a hard time remembering which off the top of my head.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although folk-tales aren't my favorite thing in the world, these stories are funny and cute. But the illustrations are AWESOME - they're made by traditional tent-makers in Cairo, and are completely fascinating.

[Toby Abrahamsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Folktales from the Middle East, retold by the author with the help of a translator. Beautiful hand sewn, colorful illustrations. I've used this book to teach theme, conflict, and to point out more subtle styles of humor.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the cloth figures used as illustrations in this book, as well as the explanation at the end of the book. My 4th graders enjoyed hearing some of these stories after hearing "Nasreddine" by Weulersse.

[Ciara Plackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these short fables and tales.

[Emma Parker]

Goha, the Wise Fool is a picture book that follows the tales of a comedic individual whose stories have been passed down for years in small villages in the Middle East. Goha is a famous character that has been included in Islamic culture for many years. His stories are humorous and are usually at Goha’s expense. This is a light-hearted child’s book and the illustrations are unique tapestries, adding to the quality. This book allows the reader to be educated on Middle Eastern story-telling culture and prompts them to look at the positive messages about Goha’s personality in his experiences.