The Hundredth Name [Paperback]

Shulamith Levey Oppenheim (Author), Michael Hays (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

To help his depressed camel, Qadlim, Salah, a Muslim boy prays to Allah for assistance, in a lyrical story that evokes village life along the Nile and captures a youngster's faith.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Originally published in Cricket magazine, this quiet tale set "far back in time" in Muslim Egypt conveys the lessons of a foreign culture and its enduring religiosity. Salah is distressed because his camel, Quadiim, seems sad. His father tries to reassure him: "Here on earth we poor mortals must live and die knowing only ninety-nine names for Allah, our God, though there are, in truth, one hundred names, and the last one is the most important. But do we walk about dejected, head down, shuffling our feet? No! We work, we eat, we care for each other." And, he concludes, "We pray!" Drawing his own interpretation, Salah fervently bids Allah to let the camel learn the 100th name. The following day, the animal stands proud and tall, a "look of infinite wisdom" on its face. Oppenheim's (Appleblossom) lucid, gentle storytelling conjures up the worshipful atmosphere of Salah's home, even if the exact significance of specific points (like Allah's 100 names) may elude the target audience. Hays's (The Boy Who Loved Morning) paintings, obviously carefully researched, ably suggest a timeless setting. Rendered in acrylics on gessoed linen canvas so that the grain shows through, effectively hazy art captures the spiritual quality of the tale. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Set in a Muslim village in Egypt, this tale of friendship and faith is warm and satisfying. Salah lives in a mud-brick house on the banks of the Nile. Contented with his own life, he feels sad because his beloved camel, Qadiim, always seems so solemn and unhappy. Father does not understand the boy's concern for an animal he thinks of as an "...obstinate, stupid, ugly beast," but he comforts his son. He explains that mortals must learn to live knowing only 99 names for Allah, when it is the 100th name that is most important. That night, Salah thinks about his father's words, deciding that Qadiim should be told the 100th name. Outside, beneath the moon, he unrolls his father's prayer rug and makes his first prayer to Allah. In the morning, Qadiim stands tall and proud, wearing a look of "infinite wisdom." Told with sincerity and dignity, this tale skillfully weaves together cultural and religious images. The plot is filled with details of everyday life, and many descriptive phrases are tied to the landscape. With their textures, patterns, and muted color scheme, Hays's handsome acrylic-on-linen illustrations create a strong sense of place. Smaller, more detailed insets sometimes accompany the larger paintings, and the visual story unrolls with the grace and serenity of Father's prayer rug.?Joy Fleishhacker, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563976943
• ISBN-13: 978-1563976940
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 10 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learning the value of the Greatest Name of God, June 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hundredth Name (Paperback)

I'm ordering this book to use at a summer school for Baha'i children. Baha'is believe that we know the Hundreth Name which is also the Greatest Name of God and we often call ourselves the Community of the Greatest Name. To find this book in our local library was a gift. It is such a generous view of an Islamic family and shows much love between a father and son. It will be very popular story with my children.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical, but inaccurate, May 27, 2008

By 

Freda C. Shamma "curriculum consultant" (Cincinnati Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hundredth Name (Paperback)

I wish the author had done his research - his description of Muslim prayer is wrong; he is geographically inaccurate - Egyptian farmers do not use camels - they use donkeys and water buffalos. The story itself is lovely, showing warm relationships between father and son, and an admirable desire to be good to animals.

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked it, January 11, 2012

By 

Barbie (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hundredth Name (Paperback)

A touching story about a good father, his gentle son and a camel that is granted a reason to smile (It prompted me and the kids to look at pictures of camels afterwards to see if they really do look like they are smiling. It's like one of those "How the zebra got its stripes" book). I'm not a Muslim (this was required school reading), but I rate the book due to the good example shown for children that a father is praying to God and that his young son follows suit out of love for his beloved camel. Being a city dwelling nature lover, I also like the pictures of simple and happy village life.