Joha Makes A Wish: A Sephardic Tale

by Eric A. Kimmel

Other authorsOmar Rayyan (Illustrator)
Paperback, 2013

Status

Available

Call number

E KIM

Publication

Two Lions (2013), Paperback, 40 pages

Description

An original story, based on the Joha tales of the Arabic-speaking world, in which a hapless man finds a wishing stick that brings him nothing but bad luck. Includes an author's note about the history of Joha tales.

Barcode

3281

Awards

Treasure State Award (Nominee — 2012)
Aesop Prize (Prize — 2010)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 2014)
Oregon Spirit Book Award (Winner — Picture Books — 2010)

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member theCajunLibrarian
When Joha, modeled after the typical "wise fool" from Arabic storytelling, finds a wishing stick, he makes his first wish without thinking. Joha wishes for new sandals, but he is left barefoot. A series of unfortunate events follow with each wish Joha makes. Eventually, he meets a helpful old store
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keeper who encourages Joha to think more carefully before using any instrument or gift. In a twist of events, the Sultan of Baghdad insists that Joha give him the wishing stick, and Joha's streak of bad luck ceases.

The story reminds me of a lighter version of "The Monkey's Paw," and I consider it to be one of Eric Kimmel's better re-tellings.
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LibraryThing member aakauff
In this folk tale-picture book for upper elementary students, Joha finds a stick wrapped in parchment that will grant him three wishes. But instead of receiving everything he asks for, Joha finds himself being granted quite the opposite—a wish for a donkey to ride turns into Joha having to carry
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a kicking donkey instead. Ultimately, Joha has an encounter with the emperor who confiscates the wishing stick from him. Unfortunately for the emperor, he does not know how to use the stick, and there’s a familiar lesson to be learned from the story about not being greedy and appreciating what you have. Charismatic, pastel illustrations by Rayyan excel at presenting a vivid picture of the Middle East, with colorful clothing and bustling marketplaces . For ages 7-9. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member jenniferatkinson
Summary:

Joha is walking to Baghdad on a very hot day. He decides to take a rest in the shad of a wall. When he leans back, the wall gives way and Joha finds a clay jar. He looks inside and finds a parchment that read: "Stranger, you have found a wishing stick. Use it wisely. It can make your wishes
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come true." Joha decides to first wish for new shoes. unfortunately, instead of new leather slippers he ends up with no shoes at all. He gets upset and realizes he will have to continue his journey with no shoes. He then wishes that the stick would disappear. Instead, the stick sticks to his hand and he can't get rid of it. This makes him angrier. Soon a troop of the sultan's guards comes by and yells for him to move off the road. This makes frustrates Joha, especially when he sees that they have a donkey that is not being used. He wishes, outloud, that he had a donkey to carry him to Baghdad. The guards hear him and say they will make his wish come true. However, instead of giving him the donkey that will carry him, he has to carry the donkey. Now, not only is Joha upset, the donkey is as well. When he arrives at the city he is allowed to put the donkey down and continue his journey. Joha decides that since the stick keeps getting him into trouble, he will not say anything more. He soon comes upon a procession of people, and the sultan was the lead. Many people in the crowd yelled "Long life to the sultan!". The guards noticed that Joha said nothing. They question him about this and Joha explains that everything he wishes for ends up wrong so he doesn't want to wish something bad on the sultan. The sultan hears this and tells Joha to not be afraid. He asks Joha to wish away a wart that he (the sultan) has had for a long time. Joha voices that he would rather not, but the sultan threatens that if he doesn't then Joha will be sent to the dungeons. Joha abides by the sultan's words and wishes away the wart. As expected, the wart begins to multiply until the sultan's nose is covered in warts. The sultan is upset by this and screams "Off with his head!" The guards go after Joha, but he escapes. He takes off running through the city and comes across a shop. He asks the shop owner to hide him. The owner finds a trunk and tells Joha to get in. When the guards come by and ask the shop owner about Joha, he tells them that he hasn't seen him. When the guards leave, the shop owner lets Joha out and asks him why he was hiding. Joha explains about his misfortunes. The shop keeper listens and asks to see the stick. Joha shows him and the shop keeper explains to Joha that he has been using the stick upside down and in doing so, all of his wishes ended up upside down. When Joha sees the simplicity to the situation, he begins to fix his wishes. The shop keeper tells him to also fix the wish with the sultan. Joha agrees and heads back to take care of the problem. The sultan reluctantly agrees, but is happy when Joha fixes his nose including getting rid of the original wart. Sadly, the sultan is so impressed that he takes the wish stick from Joha, to keep for himself. Joha began to argue and the sultan thinks it is because Joha expected a reward. The sultan gives Joha the donkey and sends him on his way to Baghdad. Joha considers telling the sultan how to use the stick properly, but decides that the sultan should figure it out for himself.

Personal Response:

I find stories that have morals to them, such a fantastic way of teaching. I had never heard of Joha, but loved this book so much that I am going to get more. I think that many times our society tries to offset these types of stories for more blatant concepts. It is in figuring out the riddle of the moral that the deeper meaning of the story is exposed.

Classroom Extensions:

Critical Thinking: This is a chance to see what the students thought about Joha. Was he lucky or unlucky to have found the wish stick? What would they have done differently? Is Joha simplistic in his thinking or is he simply naive?

Language Arts: Eric Kimmel,the author of Joha, has a website for his stories. One of the classroom extensions he suggests builds upon the idea of having the students create their own wish sticks then to write instructions on how to use it. However, they are to be very creative. One of the suggestions was that the wish stick is a double wish stick, which means that whatever the wisher wishes for someone else, it will also come back to them.

Geography/Social Studies: Learn where Baghdad is located and the cultures of the area.

Science: Learn about donkeys.
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LibraryThing member smdorr
Joha is a funny man who finds a magic stick. However, this stick isn't working in his favor and every wish he grants turns into the opposite. These wishes get him into a lot of trouble, especially when he puts warts all over the sultan's nose. He ends up finding out that the stick didn't work
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because it was upside down. When he fixes it, all his wishes come true as they should be. He goes back to the sultan to fix his nose where he asks for the stick. However, the end shows that the sultan never could work the stick right...and is a poor shoeless man with no riches anymore. I laughed out loud with this book! Loved it!
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LibraryThing member leighfer23
This book is a good read for second though 4th grade. It is about Joha who comes across a wishing stick where whatever he wished for goes awry. Eventually he gets in trouble with the sultan because he makes a wish that a wart on the sultans nose will go away. However, because all the wishes were
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going wrong the sultan ended up with a bunch of warts on his nose. Joha goes to a old wise man who tells him that he's been holding the wishing stick upside down all along. Once Joha turns the stick over he fixes everything that went wrong and apologized to the sultan. In the end Joha ends up with a donkey and goes on his way. This book is a retelling of a classic Arab tale and is silly that all readers will enjoy.
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LibraryThing member PuddinTame
I think that this is an extraordinary book, with a perfect union of pictures and text. An original story pulling folklore elements into a fabulous story: funny, thought-provoking, and delightful for all ages. The pictures are sheer genius. I could not think of any improvement on this.
LibraryThing member jessicaedelman
I enjoyed this spin on a traditional Middle Eastern folktale. I liked the main message of the story and the illustrations in the text. The moral of the story is for one to appreciate what they have rather than wish for more. This is shown when Joha makes his wishes for red slippers, for a horse to
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ride, and to make the sultan's wart disappear. When Joha wishes for these things instead of appreciating what he has his sandals disappear, he is forced to carry a donkey, and the sultan's wart multiplies and grows. I believe the moral is applicable to various cultures and modern times.
I also enjoyed that the illustrations in this text were colorful, detailed, and supported the text. I especially liked the illustration of the sultan's nose as the warts multiply. The illustration depicts a bunch a small purple warts on the sultan's nose that look like grapes, just as the text stated. The detailed illustration also depicts the headpiece and jewels that the sultan wears. This helps the reader understand who a sultan is.
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LibraryThing member tona.iwen
I chose this book because of the cover. The colors and patterns surrounding the drawing of Joha are in blues and golds that caught my eye. I was interested read a Middle Eastern tale. Then I read the author’s note, and I was more pleased with my choice. There is speculation that Don Quixote is
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based on the Joha tales. I think it is so interesting to connect literature like this and I would want to use this supposition in the curriculum.
Curricular connection can be made with language arts in middle school by having students read this story and other Joha tales, and then read Don Quixote. Students will compare and contrast the tales and support or refute the connection using evidence from the texts.
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LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
On his way to Baghdad one sunny day, Joha leans against a brick wall, hoping to get some shade, and instead discovers a wishing stick. Overjoyed, he immediately begins to use it, only to find that the exact opposite of what he has been wishing for keeps coming to pass. Instead of new slippers, his
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sandals disappear. Instead of being carried by a donkey, he ends up being forced by the Sultan's guard to carry a donkey on his shoulders. Worst of all, he causes the Sultan's single wart to multiply, and finds himself on the run. It takes a wise stall-holder to inform him that he is holding the wishing stick upside down. Soon setting all to rights, Joha finds that his wishing stick has been confiscated by the Sultan, who (like Joha at the beginning) has no idea how to hold it...

Although familiar with the Turkish figure of the Nasreddin Hoja, a famous wise fool about whom many tales are told, I was unaware that this character is also widespread in Arab folklore, where he is known as Joha. Eric A. Kimmel, who has retold many folktales, here relates a Yemeni story, originally known as The Answered Prayer, and contained in The Answered Prayer and Other Yemenite Folktales. That original story did not feature the character of Joha, but, according to Kimmel's brief note, it suggested the Joha tradition to him, so he changed the hero's name accordingly. However that may be, the story in Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale is humorous and engaging, while the accompanying artwork from Omar Rayyan, who has also illustrated Kimmel's Count Silvernose: A Story from Italy and Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale, is delightful. Text and image work well together, creating a work that is quite amusing. Recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts, and to fans of Kimmel and/or Rayyan.
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ISBN

076145599X / 9780761455998
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