The Magic Horse

by Idries Shah

Illustrated by Julie Freeman
Ages: 7 & up

An ancient tale in the tradition of the Arabian Nights, The Magic Horse follows the wondrous adventures of young Prince Tambal. Considered a dreamer in comparison to his brother, Tambal becomes intrigued by a wooden horse dismissed by others as a mere plaything, but is really a finely carved magical horse. Prince Tambal disappears on the magic horse and has many exciting adventures before he finally obtains his heart’s desire and can return home.

Beautiful illustrations by Julie Freeman capture the magic of this tale. The images and the text are inset in rich borders of oriental patterns.

“...illustrated with jewel-toned, delicate paintings featuring the costumes, tools, buildings, and animals of the Moslem East. The two brothers do not represent good and evil as happens so often in Western tales, but instead merely the choice of two different paths. This unique quality as well as rich art will invite discussions of differences in the characters and meanings of tales across cultures... a welcome addition to traditional literature collections.”
—School Library Journal

“Ornately decorated pages, with inset naturalistic illustrations and frame upon frame of geometric borders, complement the exotic scenes ... Freeman’s patterns recall both mosaics and kaleidoscopes.”
— Publisher’s Weekly

Teachers and Children about Hoopoe Books (Adobe PDF, 86K)

Teacher's Manual for The Magic Horse (Manual4M.pdf, 76k)

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