Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale [Hardcover]

Eric A. Kimmel (Author), Omar Rayyan (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

A North African version of Snow White, with 40 thieves in the role of the seven dwarfs. Eric Kimmel has complete reworked the story by turning Rimonah into a "fearless young woman who rode with the reckless daring of a bedouin horseman." Beautiful, layered watercolor illustrations greatly enhance the story. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Snow White meets Ali Baba in this adaptation of a North African fairy tale. The heroine, Rimonah (the name means "pomegranate"), has skin as dark as a pomegranate, eyes bright as pomegranate seeds and a voice sweet as pomegranate juice. Her fate is much like Snow White's, except that she finds refuge with bedouins, not dwarves, and learns from them how to handle a sword. Forced to flee a second time, she seeks asylum in a den of 40 thieves before a final showdown with her evil stepmother. Kimmel's writing is fluid as ever, but the design of this book is decidedly off-putting. Set in a clunky font, blocks of text, one or two per page, seemed crammed on top of the illustrations, themselves very busy. The sand-colored borders further compete for the reader's attention. Heavily overdone. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4?Many elements of this North African version of "Snow White" are familiar: a good queen who dies, a jealous stepmother who wants to do away with her stepdaughter, a group of outcasts who provide shelter for the princess, and the heroine's deathlike trance and glass coffin. In other ways, however, Rimonah defies the passive, Eurocentric stereotype. Living with a Bedouin tribe after fleeing her stepmother, she next takes up with a band of 40 thieves. Formerly honest men, they accept Rimonah as one of their own, and she rides with them against the new queen. Kimmel's adaptation is lucid, unfolding at a leisurely pace that allows the tale to develop fully. His mastery is evident in his careful choice of words and his uncanny sense of pacing and rhythm. A note cites the source of the tale and the influences inspiring the work. The text, printed in bold, ornate type that is clear and attractive, is integrated perfectly into Rayyan's gorgeous watercolor paintings. The illustrations are full of movement and energy and make excellent use of light and shadow. The colors, at once muted and vibrant, glow on the page, lending a rich texture to the entire book. In his note, the artist states that he has combined elements of different traditions, setting the story in "...the more ambiguous world of folklore." This title deserves a place in every collection.?Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823410935
• ISBN-13: 978-0823410934
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > African

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful and surprising tale, September 29, 1999

By 

Morgan Smith "Morgan" (Trumansburg, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale (Hardcover)

This story starts out in the usual way: queen has baby girl, queen dies, wicked stepmother orders girl killed. Of course, the girl doesn't die, but she doesn't take up cleaning house for the Dwarven Miners Union, either. She proves herself adaptable, courageous, resourceful . . . some of the characteristics I love in my daughter. Another nifty thing is the surprise turn in the plot whenever I thought I could predict the next scene. After reading myriad fairy tales, both the surprises and the strong heroine (but strong men, too!) were quite refreshing. And I even liked her father the king. . . .

Eric Kimmel writes well consistently; this is one of his best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare jewel among children's fairytales, August 19, 2008

By 

M. Desmond - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale (Hardcover)

Rimonah of the flashing sword is both beautifully written and illustrated. The heroine, following the lead of many tales written before those of the Grimm brothers, is strong and dynamic. Both my son and my daughter love this story, and I enjoy reading it over and over again. The illustrations are rich and colorful and the language is not dumbed down as in so many other books for children of this age. Under Kimmel's eloquent pen, "And they lived happily ever after" becomes " And so, all that was sorrowful ended in joy and all that was wrong was made right again. So may it be forever." This book is a true gem.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important variant on the Snow White fairytale, February 21, 2007

By 

C. C. E. Miller - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale (Hardcover)

"Rimonah was born with skin as dark as a pomegranate's peel and a voice as sweet as a pomegrante's juice..." begins Eric A. Kimmel's adaptation of this rich North African tale. Kimmel has brought readers a tale where beauty is defined with the loveliness of darkness, and the heroine fights for her freedom from the oppression of the evil queen. Its a great book for boys and girls - adventure for all. I only wish that illustrator Omar Rayyan had taken the opportunity to provide us with a darker skinned heroine.