The Tale of the Unwelcome Guest: Nasruddin Teaches the Town a Lesson

by Rebecca Sheir, Mert Tugen (Illustrations)

The creators of the award-winning podcast Circle Round (produced by WBUR radio (Boston's NPR station), with 1.2 M+ unique downloads monthly), bring their beloved combination of folktales and storytelling activities to book form in the first branded Circle Round book series. Podcast host, Rebecca Sheir, has uncovered folktales from a broad range of traditions, all exploring timeless values, such as kindness, generosity, acceptance, and more. The Unwelcome Guest, a story with roots in Turkey as well as several other cultures, explores the themes of superficiality and how misleading it can be to judge others by their appearance. The colorful illustrations of Turkish-born artist Mert Tugen complement Sheir's original adaptation of the story of Nasruddin and his clever way of awakening his community to the dangers of judging someone based solely on their outer appearance. Specially designed to be read aloud and shared, the story is accompanied by questions and prompts for conversation, along with creative storytelling activities developed by educator Melissa Taylor, creator of the popular website Imagination Soup.

Unknown Binding

Published July 1, 2022

Reviews

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long loved this tale about the wise fool, Nasruddin. This retelling follows the traditional plot, but the bold, colorful pictures give it a more universal setting, with only hints of its Middle Eastern origins. And for me, this is the problem. Folktales are part of a culture. While their themes may be universal, and while the tales themselves change and evolve over multiple tellings, for me part of the attraction of folktales is that they allow me to step into another time and place. For this reason, I prefer Demi's more traditional presentation in "The Hungry Coat". Sheir's text doesn't give any background information about the story's origins. This is a good story to share values of not judging a person based on their appearances. I just wish it had more of a connection to the tradition it comes from.

[Stefanie Bevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a great lesson for both children and adults alike. It is all too easy to judge and make assumptions based on someone's outward appearance, but we must try to not do that and instead focus on how someone behaves and treats others. Great illustrations as well and I like the extra activities at the end.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story - better than most folk tales I've come across. But it was still a little odd. And I didn't like the pictures.