Maarouf and the Dream Caravan

    “Maarouf and the Dream Caravan” retold by Denys Johnson-Davies is about a humble shoemaker who is unhappy in his life at home. Unlike his wife, Maarouf is a person who accepts his position in life. But his wife is never satisfied with his efforts to please her. After being falsely accused of mistreatment by his wife, Maarouf escapes from Cairo with the help of a genie (a jinn). With the help of this genie, his whole life is forever changed. 

    Upon his arrival in the new land, he meets Ali who turns out to be one of his childhood friends. Ali gives Maarouf an idea of assuming a different identity instead of presenting himself as a humble shoemaker.  Maarouf pretends to be a wealthy merchant from Cairo who is the owner of a huge caravan that is on its way carrying expensive cloth and fine imported silks. The merchants are impressed with his story and his generosity and they lend him large sums of money until his caravan arrives. 

    However, shortly thereafter he accumulates a lot of debt. When Ali confronts him
he (Ali) is surprised to hear that Maarouf actually believes that his caravans will soon arrive.  There are some strong points about this book. The beautiful illustration by Yasser Gaissa helps the reader to imagine the story as it is read. It is an exciting story about a genie that children age 7 to 8 years old might enjoy. However, firstly, the moral lesson of this book is questionable. Children would walk away learning that it is okay to be irresponsible and that a magical genie would come to rescue you. 

    Also, Maarouf’s new identity is based on a lie. Is this something we want to teach our children?  Secondly, the story itself is unusual. It may be a classical tale from the Thousand and One Nights; however, I-*’m not accustomed to children’s story books being based on the problems of a marital relationship.  Books for children should provide a fun and exciting story with a good moral.

Reviewed by Sister Anna