The Day of Ahmed's Secret - Softcover

Florence Parry Heide is a well-established American author of over 70 books; best-known in Britain for her TREEHORN stories.She lives in Wisconsin. Judith Heide Gilliland is her daughter. She lived in Cairo for two years and is an expert on Arab culture. She now lives in New Hampshire. Ted Lewin is a distinguished American artist who travels the world gathering material for his work. He lives in New York.

Ahmed has monumental news to share with his family, but first he must complete the age-old duties of a butagaz boy, delivering cooking gas to customers all over Cairo. The juxtapo sition of old and new is a repeated theme in Heide and Gilliland's thought ful story of a young boy living in the bustling metropolis surrounded by thousand-year-old walls and buildings. His philosophical musings as he steers his donkey cart on his appointed rounds could be those of any youngster, living in any age, waiting for the appropriate moment to share his special secret. En hanced by Lewin's distinguished pho torealistic watercolors, the sights, sounds, and smells of the exotic setting come to life. Sweeping double-page spreads reveal the sun-bleached streets, pedestrians bearing all manner of bundles, and colorful market stalls. At home at last, surrounded by his lov ing family, Ahmed demonstrates his newly acquired facility, proudly writing his name in Arabic. Life goes on in the hectic, noisy cities of the world regard less of a day's news and yet, the bound less energy and promise of youth rein force the ideal that anything is possible. Ahmed's story is a joyful celebration of that spirit.
-Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.