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SINDBAD IN THE LAND OF GIANTS by Ludmila Zeman

SINDBAD IN THE LAND OF GIANTS

adapted by Ludmila Zeman & illustrated by Ludmila Zeman

Pub Date: July 1st, 2001
ISBN: 0-88776-461-4
Publisher: Tundra Books

Zeman, who has retold the story of Gilgamesh for children, here retells her second Sindbad (Sindbad, 1999) story. This is a spectacular beauty, set out as though woven into intricately detailed Persian carpets, each different part of the story residing in differently patterned and colored frames of varying sizes. As Sindbad safely reclines on silk cushions with a cup of tea, he recounts his adventures to the Porter. These involve being attacked onboard ship by wicked monkeys, caged by a clawed and hairy giant who plans to eat him and his fellow sailors, and escaping from a snake the size of a dragon. When he is finally rescued by those who would kill him for invading their country, he saves himself by telling his wild tale, convincing his captors that he must be more than a mere mortal. Zeman’s art is particularly effective with her monsters: her hairy blue giant with his snaggly teeth and claws and her blue and gold serpent are scarily splendid. But it is her wonderful carpets that make Sindbad’s assurance of more to come so promising. Zeman includes a double-paged map of Sindbad’s voyages and in an author’s note, she explains not only the source of the story of Sindbad, but a bit about what readers see in the pictures. (Picture book. 7-10)