Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle
Eastern Tale,
Adapted by Eric A. Kimmel, 2010
Kimmel, Eric A., and
Omar Rayyan, ill. Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale. Tarrytown,
NY: Marshall Cavendish Children, 2010. ISBN 9-780761-455998
Ages 4-8
Stories about wishes
are always fun, because you know that somehow, some way, something will go
terribly wrong. This folktale, adapted by Eric A. Kimmel, shows us yet another
twist on how wishes can go awry.
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| Artwork by Omar Ruyyan, image from schoollibraryjournal.com |
This charming tale
begins with our protagonist, Joha, walking down a long, hot road to Baghdad. He
stops to rest in the shade of some ruins. When he leans against a wall, it
gives way and he discovers a parchment that explains that the stick inside is a
wishing stick, with the usual warning – “Use it wisely.” After wishing for red
leather slippers for his tired feet, Joha discovers that not only does he not
get what he wished for, but his worn-out sandals are gone also! After getting
angry at the stick and wishing it would disappear, it sticks tightly to his
hand (are you beginning to sense a theme here?). After being forced to carry a
donkey on his back the rest of the way to Baghdad (instead of the donkey
carrying him) Joha now realizes the stick he’s carrying is trouble, and vows to
remain silent. But as the sultan passes by and Joha does not shout “Long life
to the Sultan!” with the crowd, he gets in trouble with the guards, and then
the sultan himself when a wish for a wart on the sultan’s nose to go away
multiplies the wart instead. Joha flees before the guards can behead him, and a
kindly shopkeeper hides him. After listening to Joha’s troubles, the shopkeeper
realizes that Joha has been holding the wishing upside down, and “If the stick is upside down, your wishes will be
upside down, too.” After this discovery, the shopkeeper reminds Joha that
fixing the sultan’s nose would be the right thing to do. After he does that, however,
the sultan takes the wishing stick from Joha and gives him the same donkey he
had carried to Baghdad as his reward (but this time, Joha’s the rider). As Joha
is riding away from Baghdad, he wonders to himself and the donkey if he should
go back and tell the sultan about holding the stick the right way – then
decides against it. The sultan, as we see on the last page, never figures it
out for himself.
Illustrator Omar
Ruyyan's beautiful watercolor paintings are intricate, detailed, and full of
humor and whimsy. Bricks on Joha’s turban after he falls through the wall, the
expression on the donkey’s face when it is being carried on Joha’s back, and
the reflection of the sultan’s warted nose as he sees himself in a hand mirror
are just some of the examples of Ruyyan’s wit and imagination. He depicts
ancient Middle Eastern culture without stereotyping it, and some of the
patterns and images he incorporates into his paintings can be found in
photographs of Middle Eastern art and architecture.
According to Eric A.
Kimmel’s “A Note from the Author,” (Joha
Makes a Wish, Kimmel, 2010) Joha tales are well-known throughout the Middle
East. He appears as Nasreddin Hoja, the wise fool, in stories from Turkey,
Iran, and Central Asia. Joha stories have a lot to teach us about the thin line
between wisdom and foolishness, according to Kimmel, and this specific tale was
inspired by “The Answered Prayer,” a tale from Yemen. The text of that story
can be found in Sharylya Gold and Mishael Maswari Caspi’s The Answered Prayer and Other Yemenite Folktales (Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society, 2004).
Joha Makes a Wish is a wonderful folktale that
teaches young and old alike that granted wishes are not always what we wanted
or needed. Kimmel writes in a way that is easy to read for story times, as well
as quietly flipping through the pages, closely examining the artwork, and
taking in the story as it unfolds. I had the opportunity to read this book to
first, second, and third grade students, and they all enjoyed the story and
laughed at the illustrations.
Reading
and writing connections:
- · Have students read other stories about wishes and wishing to compare and contrast the stories. Here are some to consider:
o Kunstler, James Howard. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. ISBN 978-0689800634
o Perrault, Charles. “The
Ridiculous Wishes,” retold in Old-Time Stories told by
Master Charles Perrault. ISBN 978-1447449140
o Djurklou, Baron G. “The Sausage,” retold in Fairy Tales from the Swedish. ASIN B004I43SBM
- · Have students write their own story about wishes. What everyday object can they imagine giving them wishes?
- · Since there are only a few speaking characters in this story (Joha, a guard, the donkey, the sultan and the shopkeeper), it could be easily adapted for readers theatre.
- · Get some wooden dowels at the hardware store (they will cut them to length) and let your students create their own wishing sticks with other art supplies that you or your art teacher provides.
Reviews:
School Library Journal: “The
wishing scheme and fulsome pictures promise read-aloud fun.” (2010)
Jewish Book World Magazine: “Here Kimmel has
melded a traditional Middle Eastern character with a traditional Jewish tale to
tell a humorous story for general children's collections.” (2010)
If you want to learn
more about author Eric A. Kimmel and illustrator Omar Rayyan, here are links to
their websites:
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