Books published by publisher Hoopoe Books

When the good-natured Share the Lion, King of all the animals, sees his reflection in a pool of water, he gasps at the fierce creature staring back at him and is too frightened to drink – until finally, he learns to overcome his fear. Children learn through Share how to deal positively with the fears and inhibitions that so often arise from situations they may not yet understand. This is one of a series of stories collected by Idries Shah – a Teaching-Story – used for hundreds of years in the East as an educational instrument to help children understand life. This story was originally told by the 13th century Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi. Ingrid Rodriguez's beautiful illustrations bring the story to life with warmth and humor and a distinctive richness of detail.

In this amusing story, an old woman encounters an eagle for the first time. Perplexed by its unfamiliar appearance, she decides to change it to suit her own ideas of what an eagle should look like – a common pattern of human thought – altering the unfamiliar to make it acceptable. This tale is specially presented for children by 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 Central Asia and the Middle East, such tales are used to help foster greater mental flexibility and insight in people of all ages.

The Magic Horse is the story of two brothers, one skilled in all the practical arts, and the other, Prince Tambal, considered by most people to be only a dreamer. Their father, the King, announces a competition to produce "interesting and useful devices" – the entry produced by a woodcarver appears to be a simple wooden horse – apparently of little value. Prince Tambal discovers, however, that the horse is able to magically transport its rider to whatever place is in his mind. In this way, Prince Tambal comes to learn a great many things, and eventually, comes to know "his heart's desire." The Magic Horse is one of the hundreds of stories collected by Idries Shah from sources in the Middle East and Central Asia. In the Sufi tradition there is a continuum between the children’s story, the entertainment or folklore story, and the instructional or instrumental story. A story can help children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to. It can, at the same time, stimulate a deeper understanding in adults.Through the instrumental function of this rich body of oral and written material, we and our children can now learn to develop the capacity to be more flexible and to understand many more things about ourselves and about life.

A man tricks a young fox into believing that he will give him a chicken. The fox is trapped, but through ingenuity and perseverance, he escapes. Reading this story inspires children to face challenges directly, and even to use the obstacles in their paths to solve problems. This story belongs to the rich and ancient storytelling tradition of Central Asia and the Middle East. Retold here by the author and educator Idries Shah, it is one of a series of illustrated books for the young. These tales are designed to foster thinking skills and perception. In an entertaining way, the stories introduce children to interesting aspects of human behavior and help them learn to recognize these patterns in daily life.

In this amusing story, an old woman encounters an eagle for the first time. Perplexed by its unfamiliar appearance, she decides to change it to suit her own ideas of what a bird should look like. Her efforts mirror a common pattern of human thought: altering the unfamiliar to make it acceptable. This tale is specially presented for children by 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 Central Asia and the Middle East, such tales are used to help foster greater mental flexibility and insight in people of all ages.

The Queen of Hich-Hich fails to follow the instructions given to her by Arif the Wise Man, and, as a result, gives birth to a half-boy. Neem makes himself complete by an act of cleverness, negotiation and compromise. This story helps children learn flexibility and perseverance. For more than a thousand years this story has entertained young people and helped to foster in them the ability to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. This tale is one of the many hundreds of Sufi developmental stories collected by Idries Shah from oral and written sources in Central Asia and the Middle East, presented here as one of a series of illustrated children's books.

Fatima is a young woman whose life seems beset by one disaster after another. Setting forth on a journey from her home in the West, she is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone near Alexandria. Adopted by a family of weavers, and beginning to prosper in her new life, she is captured and made to work making masts. Undertaking a journey to sell the masts, her ship is wrecked off the coast of China. It is only here that Fatima finally realizes that what seemed to be disasters were really essential steps towards realizing her eventual fulfillment. A story of wisdom and depth, ideal as a bedtime story, it helps children understand the need for perseverance to reach their goals. This Teaching-Story is well known in Greek folklore, but this version is attributed to the Sheikh Mohamed Jamaludin of Adrianople (modern-day Edirne in Turkey) who died in 1750. This book is filled with wonderful illustrations by Natasha Delmar. Taught to paint by her father, the celebrated classic Chinese painter Ng Yi-Ching, she captures Fatima's adventures with a wealth of detail and color. Using Middle Eastern and Chinese design , Delmar transports readers into the exotic worlds of Fatima's travels, in a way delightful to both young and old.

On the day a boy is born, his parents are visited by a wise man who says, "This is a very, very important boy, and I'm going to give him something marvelous one day, but I will have to give him his name first. So please don't give him a name yet." So, they name him Benaam, which means Nameless. The story tells how the boy seeks, and eventually finds his own name – and also gives away an old dream he doesn't want – for a wonderful new dream. This book is one of a series of illustrated Teaching-Stories by Idries Shah, stories which have captivated hearts and minds for more than a thousand years. The stories are designed to help children learn to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. Among the many insights this story gives children is the idea that it takes patience and resolve to achieve one's goals in life. Mona Caron's beautiful illustrations embellish this unusual and captivating story, presenting the wonder of this hidden world to both children and adults.

When the good-natured Share the Lion, King of all the animals, sees his reflection in a pool of water, he gasps at the fierce creature staring back at him and is too frightened to drink – until finally, he learns to overcome his fear. Children learn through Share how to deal positively with the fears and inhibitions that so often arise from situations they may not yet understand. This is one of a series of stories collected by Idries Shah – a Teaching-Story – used for hundreds of years in the East as an educational instrument to help children understand life. This story was originally told by the 13th century Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi. Ingrid Rodriguez's beautiful illustrations bring the story to life with warmth and humor and a distinctive richness of detail.

The Magic Horse is the story of two brothers, one skilled in the practical arts, and the other, Prince Tambal, considered by most people to be only a dreamer. Their father, the King, announces a competition to produce "interesting and useful devices" – the entry produced by a woodcarver appears to be only a simple wooden horse – apparently of little value. But, when Prince Tambal looks more closely, he discovers that the horse is able to magically transport its rider to whatever place is in the rider's mind. In this way, Prince Tambal comes to learn a great many things, and eventually comes to know "his heart's desire." This book is one of a series of illustrated Teaching-Stories by Idries Shah, stories which have captivated hearts and minds for more than a thousand years. The stories are designed to help children learn to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. In the Sufi tradition there is a continuum between the children’s story, the entertainment or folklore story, and the instructional or instrumental story. A story can help children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to. It can, at the same time, stimulate a deeper understanding in adults.

The Magic Horse is the story of two brothers, one skilled in the practical arts, and the other, Prince Tambal, considered by most people to be only a dreamer. Their father, the King, announces a competition to produce "interesting and useful devices" – the entry produced by a woodcarver appears to be only a simple wooden horse – apparently of little value. But, when Prince Tambal looks more closely, he discovers that the horse is able to magically transport its rider to whatever place is in the rider's mind. In this way, Prince Tambal comes to learn a great many things, and eventually comes to know "his heart's desire." This book is one of a series of illustrated Teaching-Stories by Idries Shah, stories which have captivated hearts and minds for more than a thousand years. The stories are designed to help children learn to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. In the Sufi tradition there is a continuum between the children’s story, the entertainment or folklore story, and the instructional or instrumental story. A story can help children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to. It can, at the same time, stimulate a deeper understanding in adults.

This story is about a badly behaved man and how a young boy initiates a plan to change his behavior and, with the help of all the villagers, succeeds. It will bring laughter to young children and, at the same time, teach them valuable lessons about conflict resolution, initiative and co-operation. Part of a rich body of literature from Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Middle East, this story is one of many collected and retold for children by the Afghan author Idries Shah. It is the first in this series to be set in the West.