TEHRAN -- Six Iranian children’s books were among the titles representing the Middle East in the annual White Ravens Catalogue which is published by the International Youth Library in Munich.

“Three Vases” by Ahmadreza Ahmadi, “The King’s Daughter” by Farideh Khalatbari, “Mr. Jackal Stole My Paints” by Fereshteh Sarlak, “The Merchant and The Parrot” by Rumi, “Whom Did Aunt Suska Marry?” by Ali-Asghar Seyyedabadi and “Friendship Is Not Lost, Neither Is Enmity” by Mehdi Shojaei are among the selected titles.
In “Three Vases”, Ahmadreza Ahmadi narrates three separate stories. Diary-like, the first story tells of a boy who escapes the war with his grandfather. The only thing that he is able to take with him from his village is a rockrose. The two following stories vary the basic theme by replacing the rockrose with a narcissus and a geranium, respectively.
The book is illustrated by Nazli Tahvili and is published by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults Publication.
“The King’s Daughter” by Farideh Khalatbari tells the story of a princess, the only child of the king, who wishes to choose whom she marries. However, she does not wish to marry for position, so she dresses herself as a man and journeys to the four corners of the world. In the end, she finds her husband in the form of a shepherd, who was himself born a king’s son and has hidden his identity for the same reasons that the princess has hidden hers.
Released by the Shabaviz Publications, the book is illustrated by Fereshteh Najafi.
Fereshteh Sarlak’s “Mr. Jackal Stole My Paints” is based on a story by renowned Persian poet Rumi. The story is about a jackal that is depressed by the impossibility of fulfilling of his wish to be as attractive and brightly colorful as a peacock. In order to make his dream come true after all, he steals the most beautiful colors from a dyer and applies these to his coat.
The illustrator Firuzeh Golmohammadi paints the story in bright colors and portrays the vain protagonist with humor. The book is released by the Nazar Publication.
Rumi’s story of “The Merchant and the Parrot” has been adapted by for children. The story is about a merchant who unwittingly lets his parrot escape from the captivity of his cage by revealing a trick to ingeniously attract wild parrots.
Firuzeh Golmohammadi has equipped the text with expressive color illustrations and the book was released by the Ofoq Publications.
Ali-Asghar Seyyedabadi’s “Whom Did Aunt Suska Marry?” tells of a ladybug who wishes to marry Mr. Mouse. In the process, she also considers other ways that a lifelong bond could be sealed. The modernization of the transmitted material is made visible through the book’s fascinatingly powerful, vivacious color illustrations and its fresh typography by Alireza Golduzian. The book is released by the Ofoq Publications for children above seven.
“Friendship Is Not Lost, Neither Is Enmity” is one of the tales of the renowned animal fable Kalila and Dimna which has been adapted by Mehdi Shojaei for children above seven. It is the story of a traveler who frees a jeweler, a snake, a tiger, and a monkey, all of whom are caught in a deep hole in the forest together. He receives a necklace from the tiger as a thank-you gift. When the traveler meets the jeweler again, the latter is driven by greed to lie and betray his way to get the necklace and has the traveler thrown in jail. The snake comes to the rescue and saves the traveler from his sentence.
The book is illustrated by Pejaman Rahimizadeh and released by the Neyestan Publications.
The above books were among 250 titles in 36 languages from 52 countries which were chosen for 2011 White Raven Catalogue.
Each year, Germany selects noteworthy, newly published books from around the world and compiles them into the annual White Ravens Catalogue, introduced each year at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy.
Photo: “Three Vases” written by Ahmadreza Ahmadi is among six Iranian children’s books scheduled to be published the International Youth Library in Munich in 2011.