The Seven Wise Princesses: A Medieval Persian Epic

by Wafa' Tarnowska, Nilesh Mistry (Illustrator)

Although his kingdom is prosperous, Shah Bahram is restless, haunted by the portraits of seven princesses that he saw when he was young. And so he builds seven extravagantly beautiful pavilions, each a different color, and invites the princesses to come live in them. The wise princesses tell the shah stories that teach him the virtues that a ruler, and indeed every human being, must cultivate - truth, patience, perseverance, forgiveness, humility, wisdom and love.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Middle East, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kaion · Rating 4 out of 5]

NooooOOOOooooOOOOooo, beautifully-illustrated children's books which will lull you into reading hard-to-find eight-hundred year old epics in other languages! It's a trap!

All kidding aside, The Seven Wise Princesses is a very smooth adaptation of Haft Paykar that balances content nicely with accessibility. I'll save the deeper commentary for when I do read Nizami's epic, but this is an interesting variation on the nested tale, with the seven princesses each telling a tale without any real connection between them except perhaps can be intuited through the content of the stories. I've read Gorgani's Vis and Ramin (a major influence on Nizami), which has some startling three-dimensional depictions of women, so I hope to see more the same in the full Haft Paykar.

The illustrations are very meticulous and pretty; I loved searching the decor of each pavilion for all the detail work. The potential accuracy of the depictions of the various countries of the princesses might be something to look for in the full epic as well. I imagine Persia of the 12th century was well a crossroads, and Nizami might've had real information on the countries the various princesses come from.

I don't know if it's just me, but why does the kid's section of the library have so many more culturally-diverse, interesting selections? Are only kids meant to be open-minded and broadly educated? Rating: 3.5 stars

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es todo lo que un buen cuento de fantasía y "hadas" debería ser. Lleno de luminosidad y oscuridad, aunque siempre con un final brillante esperando tras cada página. La narración es evocadora y cuidadosa. Los colores, las flores, los olores y las criaturas que aparecen cobran vida.
La parte ilustrada es el acompañante perfecto.

[Anneke W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of the Haft Paykar, a series of Persian tales from the middle ages. The illustrations were great, and each story is filled with wisdom. Each princess shares her knowlegde and wisdom with the Shah, and he becomes a better person for it. A real gem!

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again I was attracted by the illustrations which were superb & liked the Persian miniatures they were styled after. I was unfamiliar with the Medieval poem this is a prose retelling of, but it was an interesting story with each princess telling a story to the shah which together make him a better & wiser ruler. Glad I stumbled upon this

[Maia James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book was still in print so I could buy a copy! It's a wonderful retelling of the Persian folktale with gorgeous illustrations. I love that the princesses are wise and provide guidance but do not end up marrying the prince. The prince himself decides to dedicate his life to God and his people and never marries, and becomes a legendary Shah.

[Saima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Nonjis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piek literatuur

[Teri Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful book apparently is the first English translation for children of the poet Nizami’s work titled, “Haft Paykar.” The book is divided into sections of stories told by each of the seven princesses who are: Indian, Greek, Arabian, Russian, Moroccan, Chinese, and Persian. This poet wrote this story as a spiritual and moral tale based on the life of a real person, Shah Bahram V. He relied heavily on Sufi symbolism and beliefs that self-knowledge leads to an understanding of the world and its Creator. Choosing women to teach men wisdom through the vehicle of storytelling, each princess imparts knowledge to the reader (and to all people) through a story. The poem is also inspired by a quotation by Muhammed, “He who knows himself knows his Lord.” Through these entertaining tales, readers understand that personal virtue and wisdom are required before one can become an honorable and impartial ruler. One of the tales describes how the shah went from ignorance to wisdom through a journey to City of the Stupefied. Here people wear black because of a secret that they have learned. The Shah wears black too to remind him of his impatience and foolishness. I would pair this story titled, “The Raja Who Dressed in Black,” with clips from a psychological experiment conducted on children who were given a choice of one immediate marshmallow—or two marshmallows when the psychologist returned. This study would show that the concepts of impatience and foolishness are universal. I think students would be interested to learn about what the experiment predicted about real life people who were then studied later in life. (Interestingly enough, they continued to be impatient people.) Insight into the importance of astrology and numerology to Persians and followers of Muhammad are included. Students will learn about the details of the Muslim pilgrimage to the Ka’aba in Mecca, and other cultural symbols of significance in Islam.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually a shock. It was put on hold for my 4 year old little girl (considering the name her big brother assumed it was for wee ones!) Uhoh...Well it was marked YA when we got it..WHAT? But, she would have none of it...we were reading that book. Well of course we were, there are 7 lovely princesses on the cover! It was actually an very interesting story. I did have to skip and ad-lib in some places for her tender heart, but over all it was a fun story full of new and wonderful folk tales!

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this out loud. Beautiful pictures. The very end seemed abrupt to us, but the kids enjoyed all the rest of it. The book is a retelling of a Medieval Persian epic about a shah who invites seven princesses to live in special pavilions he builds for them and they in turn each tell him a story.

*edited Feb. 2021: I read this to the children again and we still like it. Beautiful pictures. One of the kids noted that giving someone the princess's hand in marriage or killing them if they don't complete a task seems to be a fairly standard fairy tale theme.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, yet another book from Barefoot Books that we really enjoyed. My kids were fascinated by the way the story was told .. moving from the narrator to the shah to the princesses. It was many stories woven into one book .. and it was interesting to introduce the concept of different voices within one story. And while the princesses did not "do" much; they were full of wise stories with strong morals .. which is more than can be said of many princesses in many books.

[Kienie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have benefited from knowing at least something about the Shah, because I'm assuming at least some of the event are historical. Though maybe I shouldn't.

The stories are condensed, but in a way that still leaves them with rhythm instead of just rushing through. It's not perfect, as in some places it feels like a summary instead of a retelling. And the ending feels very abrupt.

Still, it made me want to read the original epic.

[Shamsa Abid · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book's layout and design was very pleasant, so one star is only for that very detail. The stories appeared childish. I haven't read the original poetry of Nizami whose work is translated into this book, so it would be unjust to use this book as a qualitative parameter of Nizamis original work. A lot is lost in translation. The following is a spoiler: the prince sending all the princesses back was a harsh surprise.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book. In 100 pages it retells an old tale of a Shah who speaks with 7 princesses in an effort to see if he will marry one of them. Each princess chooses a pavilion of a different colour, and this colour sets the tone for the tale she will tell the Shah. The illustrations are magnificent.

[Danielle Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because of it's wisdom/morals and fantastic stories of dragons, a fortress, good vs. bad, sword fights, and anything to make the reader wonder. This book is perfect to read as both young and old.

[Laura Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just spent the best part of an hour looking for this book, as I had forgotten the title. I read it in elementary school as a child, and was absolutely enchanted, not just by the stories, but the illustrations are magnificent as well.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Fin said, the artwork was amazing. I especially loved the pictures of each of the pavilions. I also loved the love story aspect of it. :)

[Maren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca picked this out in the school library. It was a gem--good morals, good story elements, adapted from the classics.

[Sherica · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifully illustrated in the middle eastern manner, using mosaics, repeating patterns, colours, and eight good stories in the style of Arabian Nights

[Ɠяαcє O'Ɓяιєη➵ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. You learn about the different customs around the world.

[Fernanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las ilustraciones son lo mejor. De esos libros que digo: si algún día tengo hijos es para ellos...

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessant boek.

[Lara Núñez · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read, it teaches you valuable wisdom and it’s very entertaining.