Customer Reviews

Day of Ahmeds Secret (Picture Puffin)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An especially beautiful and thought-provoking book. The story transports us to Cairo, Egypt, where we are invited to observe a day in the life of a young Egyptian boy who sells gas canisters to help his family, all the while, harboring a secret. A must read if you are interested in learning about other cultures, and about the lives of millions of children around the world. The authors capture the culture, a sense of the language (poetic), the spirit of the people, as well as their philosophy of life. We even get some idea of the geography and history of Egypt; and all of this in a children's book. This is truly an wholistic piece of work. The illustrator does a marvelous job of capturing the sights and colors of Cairo. I have been so impressed by this book as to have recommended it to countless students and teachers in the school system where I teach. I have even been moved to write and thank the authors, who graciously responded.

I would also highly recommend the authors' other two books in this trilogy of stories set in the Middle East: 'The House of Wisdom' set in ninth-century Baghdad, Iraq (poetic), and 'Sami and the Time of the Troubles' set in modern day Lebanon. [Read an interview with the authors in November 1999 issue of 'Book Links' magazine.]

I love this book because it conveys better than any book I've seen the magic of the breakthrough to literacy. The excitement of this working class boy who will now embark upon a whole new world because he has the first tool captures a precious moment in every child's life - and all this is accomplished with a text and illustrations that are bright and alive.

I loved this book. it is amazing. the words are lovely, the plot enchanting, and the illustrations are superb. if you can avoid it, don't let anyone tell you ahmed's secret until you can read it for yourself. it's well worth reading the whole thing to find it.

I came across this book at the Dearborn Arab-American Festival, the largest Arab festival in North America. And I'm so glad I did. Vivid illustrations, and an engrossing storyline. Heide reveals a very realistic Cairo street life, unknown to most Western adults, and here very easy for kids to relate to through the eyes of the young child, Ahmed. I smiled as I read and saw different scenes, like the rose-water man, and remembered walking through Cairo and seeing these very people. The scenes are gritty- not white-washed, yet also very relationally connected, with people caring for each other and showing true hospitality, the hallmark of Egyptian life. This child isn't a terrorist; it's a young child; it's real life. When he finally reveals his secret, it's the joy of a child first learning to read, just like any Western or American child. But he's also truly Egyptian- he presents his name in Arabic.

After we read this, I and the children in the library learned to write our names in Arabic, and then we *had* to get some rosewater ice cream, in order to fully immerse ourselves in the book. If you can get ahold of it, I highly recommend!

Lavishly illustrated. Throughout the bustling city of today's Cairo, young Ahmed rides his donkey cart, past buildings a thousand years old. The sights and sounds of the city fill the day, and when at last Ahmed hurries home, young readers will be excited to learn the secret Ahmed has been waiting to share with his family - he has learned to write his name!

Teachers/Librarians: wonderful for K - 6th grades. Those 5th and 6th graders would love seeing how their name looks written in the Arabic script. Ask an Arab parent or someone in your community to do this for your class, or send your class set of names (first names only) to this reviewer and I'll write them out, scan them and send them back to you. (Include your grade level and name/location of school please.)

This is a very sweet book. This multicultural book welcomes the reader into Ahmed's life through the first person point of view. The illustrations are a wanderful compliment to the words. The reader meets the city in which Ahmed lives, the people who surround him, and his family values which are easily related to children's lives. I read with anticipation wandering what the secret could be. I closed this book with a smile on my face.

This book is well written and illustrated and will always be a constant reminder of my days living and working in Egypt. I have gladly shared this book with many of my friends and colleagues and will continue to do so. Proud to add it to my collection of memorabilia of my life in Egypt.

I agree with the many positive reviews posted here, so will not cover the same ground. I picked this up intended for a gift for a child but ended up keeping it for myself. The pictures are so beautiful and real -- obviously the illustrator has been to Cairo. I feel transported to the streets there when I go through the book. And what a charming tale, too. I was happy to learn from one review that there are two more books in the series and will plan to get them. And I am going to get a hard cover version of this book, because as someone else pointed out, this is a keeper. Just added my post so that people without children would consider adding this book to their libraries if they enjoy looking at lovely pictures of old Cairo and of average Egyptians and/or would enjoy reading a sweet story about a poor Egyptian boy and his family.

I really enjoyed sharing this book with my students. We had some great discussions about what it would be like to live in another culture, and the difference between doing "chores" to help out, and what it would be like to have to work to help provide money for food for your family at a young age. It was also a great talk about the benefit of education, and how blessed any student is to get an education. The illustrations were amazing too!! It was a fantastic and high interest way to talk about modern day Egypt, instead of always focusing on Ancient Egypt when we talk about that part of the world.

While I agree with all the reviews here, I wanted to add that even if you ignored the multicultural exposure this book provides it is a mesmerizing and fun read. My three year old girl loves it, along with my five year old girl. The pictures are beautiful, the words enchanting, the ideas positive(everyone needs a quiet moment to think during their day). The gentle exposure to the concept that there are kids out there who need to work (it's very uplifting, my kids are very sensitive and it doesn't bother them because it's all provided in context).