ابن بطوطة

by Fatima Sharafeddine, فاطمة شرف الدين, حسن ميكان (رسوم)

هذا الكتاب الأول من سلسلة شخصيات تاريخية تنتمي إلى حضارتنا العربية. يخبرنا ابن بطوطة عن الأماكن التى زارها والحضارات التى تعرف عليها خلال ترحاله حول العالم، وعن الوظائف التي شغلها في البلاد التي أقام فيها فترات طويلة.

Ibn Battouta is the first title of the cultural series on renowned figures from the Arab and Islamic world. Ibn Battouta takes the reader on a journey to the different places he visited around the world narrating his experiences with various figures and cultures. This book unfolds the world of non-fiction for children through simplified narration and visual aids to help make history a much more enjoyable topic for them.

Genres: History, Biography, Picture Books, Middle East, Nonfiction, Childrens, Africa

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

See also فاطمة شرف الدين.


Fatima Sharafeddine was born in 1966 in Beirut, Lebanon, and spent the first six years of her childhood in Sierra Leon, in West Africa.
Three years after she returned with her family to live in her native country, the Lebanese civil war started. She spent the next 15 years of her life moving between cities, houses, and schools, always trying to refuge in the safest area.
In 1989, she received her B.A. in Early Childhood Education from the Lebanese American University. A year later, she got married and moved to the USA where she received a Master’s degree in Educational Theory and Practice (1993), with focus on Children’s Literature, and a Master’s degree in Modern Arabic Literature (1996), both from Ohio State University.
She moved to Houston, Texas in 1996, where she worked for two years as a lead teacher with children aged 3 to 6. At a later stage, she taught Arabic Language and Culture classes at Rice University (from 1998 to 2001).
In 2001, she moved with her husband and two children to Brussels, Belgium, and decided to become fully dedicated to writing for children. She currently works with three publishing houses, ASALA (Lebanon), KALIMAT (UAE), and MIJADE (Belgium). She mainly writes for children between 0 and 12 years old, but recently started writing for young adults. Over the last 6 years, she has written and published over 45 books, and translated several others from English and French into Arabic.
Moreover, several of her books have been translated to various Asian and European languages (details in the bibliography).
In March of 2007, she won the award of the best book of 2007 for her book “Mountain rooster” from the ‘National Committee of the Lebanese Child’, and in February 2009, her book “There is war in my city” was chosen to be on the honor list of Anna Lindh Foundation.
In 2010 she was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, for her achievements in Children’s Literature in the Arab World.
Fatima is an active member of the Society for Children Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Brussels branch, where she participates in several workshops a year, as well as organizes bimonthly critique group meetings. She also attends several book fairs during the year, mainly the Frankfurt book fair, the Bologna book fair, and the Beirut International Book fair. She participates in various reading activities in Lebanon, such as the Reading Week (in spring) and the Book Festival (in summer), where she gets a chance to go to remote villages in Lebanon and read to the children in schools and public libraries.
She has recently started to give workshops, in various Arab capitals, for writers who want to focus on children’s literature.

Reviews

[Carol Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming illustrations. I would have loved a timeline or some other supplementary features, but I enjoyed learning about Ibn Battuta.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When he was only 21, Ibn Battuta set out on the world travels that would keep him on the road for almost thirty years. His intention was to go to Mecca and he left behind his home in Tangier but kept a diary of his travels. This book, part of an intended series devoted to important Arab and Islamic individuals, is a great idea, and the fact that this man was on the road for so long is fascinating. It would have been an even more interesting book if the author could have provided more details about what happened along the way. As it is, it seems to be a series of lists of where Battuta went and what he saw there. The fact that someone would be on the road for so long, starting in 1325 makes me curious to know more about this man. The fact that his parents both died while he was away is sad too. I wonder if the wanderlust bug ever bit him again after he had returned home. The colored pencil illustrations contain maps and scenes from his travels.

[Krease Gansen]

Born in the city of Tangier Morocco in 1304 Ibn traveled the world. He traveled by camel, donkey, horse, and ship. At 21 he traveled to Mecca the holy city. Goodbye was filled with preparation for the long journey. He then met a caravan and joined them. Taking over a year, he explored Algeria, Tunisa, Libya, Egypt and Syria. He finished by walking to Kaaba. Ibn was welcomed into the city. Recalling his travels, he was charmed by Alexandira, Cairo, Egypt, and Jerusalem. Wanting to see more of the world, he went to Persia, Shiraz, Baghdad, and Basra before returning to Mecca once more. Then, it was off to sea to stay storms, pirates, and heading toward Yemen. Hiring a camel to continue his journey along the coast. Then he sailed by sea once more to Africa, where he traveled to return to Mecca again. He revisited Egypt. He then went to Turkey. Then off to the Black and Caspian Sea where it was freezing. Then to India. He visited China and was impressed by everyone wearing silk. In 1346 he went back to Mecca and learned about his fathers’ death by caravan traders. He recalled his travels and what he enjoyed the most from every place. His last travel was to Morocco returning home and writing a book about him memories.

[KitaabWorld.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you ever wonder what it was like to travel hundreds of years ago, in the days long before cars and aeroplanes? Ibn Battuta, a great traveler from the 14th century paved the way for modern age of discovery. He travelled for thirty years throughout the Islamic World - from North Africa, through India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, South East Asia to China surpassing the travels of Marco Polo and covering distances and lands rare for travelers at the time.

This book traces his travels gleamed from Ibn Battuta’s own writing Rihla, compiled from diaries of his travels. It has timeless appeal for his remarkable observations and deep understanding of different societies and his appreciation for the richness and diversity of the world.

See other books in our Inspiring Muslim Leaders and Thinkers booklist here:
https://kitaabworld.com/blogs/news/in...

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exquisitely illustrated & fascinating book about a 14th century world traveler at a time when travel was dangerous & the majority of people spent their lives in or near the place of their birth. Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 in Tangier, Morocco. As a young man, he decided he wanted to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, said goodbye to his parents & began his year-long journey to the holy city. He spent a year there studying religion & meeting many people. This began his travels to many of the major cities of the time-Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem, Dehli, Constantinople--& many more. He even traveled as far as China as the ambassador of India. His travels lasted 29 years. He returned home to find both parents has died in his absence, then settled in Fez to write of his adventures & experiences. Excellent book. Some of the most beautiful illustrations I've ever seen.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1325 at twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off on a journey from Tangier, Morocco to Mecca. He didn't return home until nearly thirty years later, visited throughout the Islamic World and beyond. He kept journals, eventually turned into a book, from which Fatima Sharafeddine wrote this story. Fatima's story of Ibn is told in first person, offering an overview of all the places visited and some of the experiences there. Intelaq Mohammed Ali interlaces the text with maps for her illustrations, showing small parts of where some cities, rivers, and oceans are. If studying the middle east, this would work well as a departure for the topic. There are many, many ideas/places discussed by Ibn about his travels.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an adult book, with the life of Ibn Battuta, but it is actually a kid's book with a super brief summary of his travels. Despite the mistake, it is a nice book for kids, I would recommend it.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! So beautifully illustrated and the author put it in first-person so it is more relatable. I just wish it were longer and had more details about these stories that he shared everywhere he stayed. Maybe an expanded sequel???

[Erling Sharp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating but boring.

[Kristalmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitabın Türkçe çevirisi Nar Çocuk 'tan çıkmış. Çok güzel resimlerle süslü hoş bir kitap. Tavsiye ederim.

[Walt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated. Brief. Skips a lot of steps on the map - makes me want to know more. Ibn Battuta is as widely traveled as Marco Polo, yet we hear little about him in the US.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful book by Fatima Sharafeddine.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I have never heard of Ibn Battuta. I learned so much while reading. I wish I knew just a tiny bit more about each place he visited.

[Nourah Alnaqbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

ابن بطوطة الذي سافر وتنقل عدة بلدان وعمل بعدة حرف قصة جميلة

[Dorena Chin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meant for kids but I wanted a quick overview of Ibn Battuta’s travels and this was the only book my library had. It intrigued me enough to go look for his actual journals.

[Abidah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but good

[Emelie Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book with beautiful illustrations. Great for children, maybe between ages 5-10. Breefly takes the reader through the remarkable journey of Ibn Battuta as if he is telling the story.

[Labla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 nije loše, ali ponekad me bunio naš prijevod. Onda sam malo istraživala i vidjela da je slikovnica dobila nagradu za prijevod :)). Bit će da je do mene :)

[Christina Getrost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Colored pencil drawings illustrate the life of Arabic traveller Ibn Battuta, who for 29 years went all over the world 91325-1354), visiting kings and sultans; was even ambassador to China on behalf of India. He wrote journals and a book of his travels. This book is okay, told in first person so very fictionalized; maps not detailed at all so I found myself a little frustrated trying to see where exactly he was at any given time. Sources only mentioned in author's notes; used Ibn's manuscripts. Good book to have for sharing little-known explorers, though, and especially helpful for sharing Muslim historical figures to a wider audience.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book charts that life and times of one of the great travelers of the Arab world, Ibn Battuta - what is most striking is that Sharafeddine has decided to tell the story in the first-person so there is a wonderful intimacy between teller and reader - the illustrations are very friendly and accessible - I still love James Rumford's account in Traveling Man but this is a great additional telling of this great life

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ibn Battuta describes his travels through the world in the 14th century. Good illustrations but the narrative could be a lot more interesting and would benefit from more detail. A better introduction to Ibn Battuta is James Rumford's Traveling Man.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part I liked this travelogue/biography about Ibn Battuta but at the end the book just stopped. In the author's note they explained when he died but I think it would have made a more natural conclusion to include that in the actual biography.

[KTV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read about Ibn Battuta in another book and requested this book from the library to read about his amazing 14th century adventures. Honestly didn’t realize this was a youth book, but enjoyed the beautiful illustrations and summary of his 73,000 mile world tour.