Arab Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook

by Karim Alrawi, Nahid Kazemi (Illustrator)

An entertaining, multifaceted, and delicious way to explore Arab culture

Arab Fairy Tale Feasts is the latest title in the highly-praised Fairy Tale Feasts Collection, a creative series that folds enchanting folk tales into cookbooks of kid-friendly recipes.

Award-winning writer and storyteller, Karim Alrawi, draws on his deep knowledge of Arab culture to create original stories that are a feast for young imaginations. Told with intriguing details, the tales take young readers on a delicious cultural journey and invite them to consider an Arab perspective. Each tale symbolically incorporates food and concludes with a traditional recipe, lovingly flavored with colorful folkloric illustrations, making this a literary banquet to savor with family and friends across generations time and again

This charming, whimsical, and beautifully illustrated book will capture children’s fancy and will be enjoyed by the whole family.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Childrens, Nonfiction, Fairy Tales, Picture Books, Middle Grade

146 pages, Hardcover

Published September 21, 2021

About the author

Karim Alrawi is a writer born Egypt. His family emigrated to England then to Canada. Alrawi graduated from University College London and the University of Manchester, England. He gained an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and was an International Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa.

He is an award winning playwright whose plays have been produced in the UK, USA and Canada.

He also writes children's books, as well as for television. His recent novel Book of Sands won the HarperCollins Prize for Best New Fiction.

Reviews

[Israa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Edelweiss for an advanced copy. This is a cute mixed-genre book. I enjoy that the fables have morals at the end. The illustrations are a bit on the rough side, but are still wonderful. The recipes are spot-on, well written, and child-friendly, without needing much adult help (as much Arabic cuisine can be difficult for some to cook). There are a variety of types of foods to try. I also enjoyed the historical, cultural, and factual information embedded throughout the book. However, I think using the word "hell" in the book would be objectionable to some parents. A map of the different countries features would have been nice to include as well. I will definitely purchase a copy for both home and school.

[Koneazny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! Easy to read. Accessible to all. Recipes are easy to follow with ingredients easy to pull off many kitchen shelves. The fairy tales are great with a summarizing lesson at the end. Fun and fresh and easy to apply to kids and students.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and recipes—the fables, not so much

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Nothing heals the body like a good meal, and nothing soothes the soul like a good story.”

This is the Arab saying that they open the book with, and nothing could more perfectly represent this book. What is a clearer window into culture than stories and food? This was an absolute delight to read.

Now to try some of the recipes. ✨

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cool idea with a fascinating intro, fun stories, and drool-worthy recipes!

But who is this book for? The intro and the recipes seemed aimed at adults, but the stories for children...

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book combining Arab fairy tales and recipes. The recipes have great photographs and are laid out in an easy to read and understand way. The recipes are all fairly simple ones that will have you and your kids working together in the kitchen. There are even historical facts about the different ingredients used. A very well done book!

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a combination that works well: combining classic Arab stories with recipes for many well-known dishes. I like that the book does represent the variety of cultures that make up the Arab world. I also enjoyed the informational sections about different ingredients and their histories. My only complaint is that while the book seems to be geared towards younger readers, many of the recipes are rather complicated. At the very least, I wish there were notes reminding young cooks to have adult supervision and assistance. With that caveat, I highly recommend this book for families to enjoy together.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is nice. it has a story about apricots and then a couple of recipes with the title in English and Arabic and then it has some facts about the food.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a literary cookbook. Each fairy tale has food mentioned in it. The recipes follow the story along with some explanations of characters, settings and ingredients as appropriate.
The tales each have a moral. They have an Arabian Nights feel to them, yet have a familiar feel as well.
Delicious is the way to describe the recipes. All are presented for ease of preparation.
This is an easy reading book. Then comes the temptation to get busy in the kitchen.

[Bridgitte Rodguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these types of books that combine genre! In this case, a cookbook with folktales/fables from a variety of Arab countries. I made a few of the recipes too! Fun stories, good food. Could there be a better combination!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to use this concept - story/ recipe/ etymology/ history & maybe drawings to create a class project

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle eastern fairy tales combined with delicious recipes! A truly unique, creative, delicious book and the opportunity to really experience another culture.

[Kate Landis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, simple, sweet stories, easy recipes.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful of recipes and short fairytales and additonal little explainations. Can't wait to try the recipes.