Kassim's Shoes is a 1977 children's book by Harold Berson. A retelling of a Moroccan folktale, it was published by Crown to highly positive reviews.
Synopsis
The people of a Moroccan village offer a new pair of shoes to a local merchant, Kassim, in exchange for his old tattered one; mishaps ensue every time he tries to give it away.[1][3][4]
Background
Harold Berson's work is a retelling of "Abu Kassim's Shoes",[5] a folktale from Morocco[3] which has circulated across the Middle East since the 14th–15th centuries, and may have entered Europe by way of Spain.[5] The original tale is also known under the titles of "The Shoes of Abu Kasim", "The Pair of Old Slippers", "The Pantofles",[5] "The Everlasting Shoes",[6] and "The Tale of the Qadi and His Slipper"[7] among several other variations.[7] It has also received adaptations by Nancy Green (1963)[8] and Geraldine McCaughrean (1982).[6]
Reception
Reviews for Kassim's Shoes were highly positive, with praise going towards Berson's illustrations.[1][3][4] The School Library Journal called it "an attractive picture-story",[1] while the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books found it "nicely retold".[3]The Christian Science Monitor's Gene Langley predicted that "children will have more fun [than their parents] following the story to its right and proper ending."[9] As Barbara Pierce of the Poughkeepsie Journal said, "Here's proof that a simple, everyday thing can be the basis for a good story, if imaginatively handled."[4]
^ abcHespelt, E. H.; Williams, Robert H. (August 1951). Hespelt, E. H.; Williams, Robert H. (eds.). "Questions and Answers". Hispania. 34 (3). American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese: 295–296. ISSN0018-2133. JSTOR333648. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
