An original story based on the “wise fool” tales of the Arabic- speaking world. Hilarious watercolor illustrations add rich detail to this wry narrative of Joha whose wishing stick brings him nothing but trouble.

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 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. ( )

Joha Makes a Wish is a quirky folk tale spin-off that takes place in an area near Baghdad back when there were guards riding on horses in the desert and sultans ruling kingdoms. In this story, Kimmel depicts a story surrounding the main character Joha, who is on his way to Baghdad and stumbles upon a stick that he finds out has magical powers. Kimmel’s descriptive text really helps to showcase Joha’s actions and reactions to his time with the magic stick. Joha’s initial and hasty conclusion is that he should use it for his own personal gain, such as by wishing for new red leather slippers to replace his worn-out sandals. However, he finds that the stick does the opposite of what he wants it to – the stick made his sandals disappear rather than grant him new ones. The main message is clear in this example and as the story continues; greediness is not a trait that one should use, and one should never take advantage of the power that one thing or even person can bring to them. In this book, Joha and later the sultan are seemingly confused as to why the stick does not comply with their wishes; but as the reader continues on they can see the main message embodied yet again, since Kimmel emphasizes through the text that their greediness will not be compensated with gifts or goodness. In all, this story is not a traditional story that one would find on a classroom shelf, but I believe that it would be a great addition to any classroom library as it teaches a good lesson and highlights a powerful moral, just in a different setting and time period than most traditional books of this genre do. The Middle Eastern aspect to it is quite interesting and the reader will not only be exposed to morals, but to a rich culture. ( )

This book does triple duty. It is a story children will like and adults won't groan over at bed time. Omar Rayyan deftly illustrates with humor, whimsy and beauty. It is also nice to have a some relief from all the anti-Middle East stereotypes we are surrounded with. Hmm ... that is four reasons to enjoy this book! ( )

In my opinion the book Joha Makes A Wish adapted by Eric Kimmel is a bland book. The moral of the overall story is to appreciate what you have, but honestly the plot was not that exciting. Joha ends up finding a magic stick, and everything he wishes for comes true the opposite way he wants it to, multiple times. This continues until an old man tells him he is holding it backwards. He then figures out he is using it wrong and goes back to fix all the wishes he asked for and that had backfired on him. A sultan ends up getting hold of the stick and falls into the same trick Joha does. So, it was a rather simple plot line with not much excitement. The language was not very descriptive it was straight to the point. The only way I was able to really picture the setting or what was going on was through the illustrations. The illustrations did in fact enhance the story and set the appropriate mood to match the text. For example in the text it states “Joha howled with anger. ‘What kind of wishing stick is this! I wished for slippers, and now I don’t even have sandals. I will have to walk all the way to Baghdad barefoot.’” The illustration along with this is Joha with a pinched, red, yelling face towards the stick, it provides much detail which makes up for the loss of description. ( )