الشاطر علي

by Nancy Farmer, Gail de Marcken (رسوم)

Three-time Newbery Honor Book author Nancy Farmer joins bestselling artist Gail de Marcken in this enchanting, original tale told in the tradition of the Arabian Nights.

Ali is finally old enough to join his father in tending pigeons for the evil Sultan of Cairo. The boy is given a pet pigeon, but warned NEVER to feed it too much, lest it become spoiled and lazy. But Ali feels sorry for his hungry pet and disobeys. When the overfed bird becomes greedy and ruins a plate of the Sultan's cherries, Ali is in big trouble! Now he has only three days to replace the Sultan's 600 cherries from the snowy mountains of Syria. Only then can he save his father from the dreaded Oubliette: a deep pit where a giant demon is waiting!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Egypt

Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Nancy was born in 1941 in Phoenix and grew up in a hotel on the Arizona-Mexico border where she worked the switchboard at the age of nine. She also found time to hang out in the old state prison and the hobo jungle along the banks of the Colorado River. She attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, earning her BA in 1963. Instead of taking a regular job, she joined the Peace Corps and was sent to India (1963-1965). When she returned, she moved into a commune in Berkeley, sold newspapers on the street for a while, then got a job in the Entomology department at UC Berkeley and also took courses in Chemistry there. Restless, again, she decided to visit Africa. She and a friend tried to hitchhike by boat but the ship they'd selected turned out to be stolen and was boarded by the Coast Guard just outside the Golden Gate Bridge. Nancy eventually got to Africa on a legal ship. She spent more than a year on Lake Cabora Bassa in Mozambique, monitoring water weeds. Next she was hired to help control tsetse fly in the dense bush on the banks of the Zambezi in Zimbabwe. Part of the time she spent in the capital, Harare, and was introduced to her soon-to-be husband by his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. He proposed a week later. Harold and Nancy now live in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona on a major drug route for the Sinaloa Cartel. This is the setting for The Lord of Opium. They have a son, Daniel, who is in the U.S. navy.
Nancy's honors include the National Book Award for The House of the Scorpion and Newbery Honors for The Ear, the Eye and The Arm, A Girl Named Disaster and The House of the Scorpion. She is the author of nine novels, three picture books and a number of short stories. Her books have been translated into 26 languages.

Reviews

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Clever Ali! The story is interesting and engaging. I didn't really know what to expect and there were twists to the story I certainly didn't foresee. The illustrations are beautiful and reminded me very much of what remains of old Cairo. The author seems to rely somewhat on western or Orientalist stereotypes in some regards. For example the fact that she gives Ali's father 2 wives which plays into so many stereotypes about Muslim men. But at the same time even though he has two wives the author makes the family out to be normal in every regard and very loving and close. The family has a slave as is stereotypical but they treat their slave well and it seems from the story that he is almost like a member of the family. Although the story is about Muslim characters there are several minor details that were seemingly inconsistent with the typical behaviors of Muslims but the overall picture was a favorable representation. The Sultan of course is represented as is stereotypical Sultan who is greedy and selfish with no regard for his citizens. This story is supposedly based on real events but the book it referenced as inspiration wasn't something I could locate at all for comparison. I did find a similar story referenced elsewhere but is much different than this story as presented in Clever Ali. In that story there is no oubliette, the sultan is not evil he just wants cherries so badly he is willing to make an expedition out of his way all the way to Syria under the guise of political visits when he really only wants to eat the fresh cherries. His visir is the one who comes up with the idea to send pigeons to fetch cherries and bring them back so that the sultan will call off this trip which would really just inconvenience everyone. As a story Farmer's is far more entertaining though. I also liked the surprise that the demon was actually kind. I thought this part fits in quite well with the Islamic concept of the Djinn who like humans have free will and therefore some are good and some are bad. Overall, my children all really liked this story (at the time ages 8, 7, and almost 3) and really liked the illustrations as well. It's likened to being from the Arabian Nights but I think that's a bit of a stretch. The story lacks the complexity and interwoven story-in-a-story model which is characteristic of the Arabian Nights tales. However, it certainly has the same type of wide appeal as other Middle Eastern-Arabian Night-esque stories.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ali is a young boy whose father tends pigeons for the wicked Sultan. When he's finally old enough to help his father, Ali is about bursting with pride. His father even gives him his very own pigeon! However, Ali is warned not to overfeed the pigeon or it will get fat and lazy. Ali feels like this rule is too strict and his pigeon does become very spoiled. One day, the mischievous bird gets into the Sultan's cherries. Uh-oh. Ali has three days to get 600 cherries or his father will be thrown to a man-eating demon deep in the Oubliette. Can Ali save his father? Has he learned his lesson? Read Clever Ali to find out!

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story with superb illustrations. The Author and Artist notes are worth reading.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just ok.

[Janna Gifford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever Ali by Nancy Farmer, illustrated by Gail de Marcken is a picturebook that targets children in the Intermediate age group. This story is about Ali who joins his father in tending pigeons for the evil Sultan of Cairo. He is told not to feed it too much but he does not listen and the bird eats all of the Sultan’s cherries. Ali has to use his wit to make sure he is not thrown into the demon-inhabited oubliette. I rated this book with only three stars due to the length of words in the book as well as the plot itself. I think that in a picturebook, there should not be a lot of words and the pictures should be the defining aspect of the book not just the words. I think that the illustrations were fantastic with the details and colors of the pigeon house and calligraphy. The borders had the Arabian script and there were fantastic mosaics in the text blocks. I think that this would be very difficult for the younger children to read because there are so many words that they are just looking at the picture and not really listening to the story. The ending itself is a very nice idea with how Ali uses all of the pigeons to go and get the cherries. The language used in the book was not always kid friendly and I would have to tell children what certain words were as well as the background of Egypt and the culture as well. I would use this story in the classroom to teach about morals as well as other cultures.

[Luann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read nearly all of Nancy Farmer's chapter books and some of her short stories. I never realized she'd written any picture books until I came across this one randomly on the library shelves. This didn't turn out to be a top favorite, but I did enjoy some parts. I really liked Gail de Marcken's vivid colors and detailed illustrations. I loved the poem at the beginning: "In Praise of Books" by al-Jahiz.

As far as the story itself, though, I thought it was much too wordy. There is way too much text to use this book as a read-aloud in a library storytime or school library lesson. It wouldn't work all that well as a nighttime read-aloud for parents and young children, either. This one is for older students.

Also, I had a question while reading this: If Ali is so clever, why didn't he listen to his father about overfeeding his pigeon? But I did like his solution for the cherries - and liked it even more after reading the author's note and learning that that part was based on something that really happened. So while this wasn't a top favorite, I'm not sorry I read it.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 Stars I was really tried when reading this book and it wasn't because it was boring, it was because I am really tired worrying about other things! But as I am nodding off, I am trying so hard to get through the story because it is very interesting! Nice middle eastern references, artwork, and very interesting story! I am going to read it again when I am not so tired! I think I might have missed a few things! Still half asleep I really enjoyed it!

[Maren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little fairy tale set in Egypt. The ratio of pictures to words is very wordy. It would be better for older kids. Folks who have been to Egypt and have seen the pigeon houses would particularly like this. The illustrations were so-so, but I particularly liked the calligraphy and tile patterns in the background.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful as is the poem about books in the beginning.
This is a picture book but one meant for older readers. There is a great deal of text. I read it to my 5 year old and she enjoyed it, but I realized children need some familiarity with the culture and language of Arab fairy or folk tales. Otherwise, this book can be challenging.

[Evelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of this book at all. The story line was a little dull and the beginning really dragged. It took most of the book to get to the real plot. I feel like the dialogue was really, well, cheesey. Even though I know it's written for younger readers, it was just too cheesey.

[Panterzop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizzard though interesting and fine story. For kids over 5 . Always a delight looking at Gail De Marcken's illustrations.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations, and a great story. I think it was rather wordy for a picture book.