The Old Woman and the Eagle [Hardcover]

Idries Shah (Author), Natasha Delmar (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

In this amusing story, an old woman encounters an eagle for the first time. Perplexed by its unfamiliar appearance, she insists that it must be a pigeon and tries to make it so. Her efforts mirror a common pattern of human thought: altering the unfamiliar to make it acceptable. This tale is one of a series specially presented for children by the Afghan author Idries Shah, who, for more than 30 years, collected stories from the Sufi tradition and adapted them to contemporary Western culture. Told since ancient times throughout Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Middle East, such tales are used by Sufis to foster greater mental flexibility and insight in young and old alike.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-This Sufi tale tries to send a positive message about not allowing others to decide who or what you are. Upon encountering an eagle for the first time, an old woman decides that the bird is a funny-looking pigeon. She swoops him up, carries him inside, and tries to make him look more like the birds she knows. She trims his claws, straightens his beak, and finally brushes down the feathers on his head. The sad eagle flies away to a nearby tree where he meets another eagle that helps him restore his original appearance. The colorful paintings include a number of Middle Eastern motifs and place the story firmly in that part of the world. Unfortunately, the advice of the second eagle-to stay away from people who think that pigeons are eagles because these silly people tend to do foolish things-comes off as xenophobic. In today's troubling times, this message might encourage children to be intolerant of different people as opposed to trying to learn more about them and hopefully foster understanding and respect. There are no source notes that might help adults explain why this message may be valuable. There is a dearth of stories from this part of the world and, for this reason, libraries may find this book acceptable.
Tali Balas, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 3. In this very short Afghan folk tale, an old woman sees an eagle for the first time. She determines that it is "a funny pigeon" and immediately clips its claws, straightens its beak, and brushes down its head feathers to make it look more like a pigeon. Fortunately, another eagle comes along and reverses the cosmetic alterations, advising, "There are a lot of silly people in the world who think that pigeons are eagles, or that eagles are pigeons, or that all sorts of things are other things." This Sufi teaching story may have lost something in the retelling, as the lesson is vague and the tale ends flatly by Western standards. On the other hand, children's story expectations may be as limited as the old woman's aviary observations. The realistic art works well with the text and depicts the silliness of the unflappable old woman and humiliated eagle. A welcome supplement for multicultural studies, this can also stimulate discussion among older students. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Hoopoe Books; 1 edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883536278
• ISBN-13: 978-1883536275
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine story of how not to change others, June 10, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Old Woman and the Eagle (Hardcover)

An old woman encounters an eagle for the first time, and decides to change its unsightly appearance to suit her own ideas of what a bird should look like. The old woman gets her way; but the eagle is saddened by his new pigeon-like appearance, until a sympathetic comrade decides to help out. A fine story of how not to change others, The Old Woman And The Eagle is a very highly recommended picturebook story.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant book for adults too, January 20, 2005

By 

Arif "Ari" (Dublin Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Old Woman and the Eagle (Hardcover)

This book has a lesson that adults should heed. It is the tale of an old woman that encounters and eagle. The interation leeads to a surprising ending. A great bedtime read and a gem