The Green Musician

June 1, 2015
In her first book for children, Shahegh retells an ancient Persian story about a talented musician who went to great lengths to secure an audience before the king. The music-loving king, Khoshrow, houses the best musician in his kingdom at his palace. When a boyish musician named Barbad sets out for the palace, hoping to provide for his family, the current favored musician Sarkash—afraid of losing his position—schemes to prevent Barbad from meeting the king. After befriending the king’s gardener, Barbad dresses himself in green and conceals himself in the palace garden to play for the king outside the confines of the royal court. While Ewart’s (The Olive Tree) watercolor scenes can feel somewhat static, she gives Barbad a sense of playful mischievousness as he hangs from a palace tree dressed head to toe in green. Shahegh’s straightforward retelling can be light on detail (Barbad’s lute-like instrument is never identified, nor is it clear how Sarkash keeps him from meeting the king for a full year), though an afterword offers information about the story’s historical underpinnings. Ages 6–up.

May 15, 2015
A young musician finds a clever way to play to a royal audience in this tale from ancient Persia. Drawn from Ferdowsi's 11th-century Book of Kings, the tale describes how the dream of Barbad (a seventh-century historical figure) to become King Khosrow's resident minstrel was blocked by the refusal of Sarkash, the jealous incumbent, to allow him into the palace. Barbad gets his audition at last, however, by painting himself green, hiding in a tree in the royal gardens, and playing from concealment until the delighted king calls him down. Though decorated with peacocks and other Eastern images, Ewart's watercolor illustrations are done in a realistic rather than "Persian miniature" style and set the episode amid verdant hills and rich interiors awash in candlelit gold. In this general atmosphere of peace and plenty, everyone, even Sarkash (at first), looks happy and smiles engagingly. The artist sometimes has Barbad playing his oud left-handed, sometimes right-, but his face is alight with character, and she leaves him at the end glancing up at viewers with a dimpled grin of well-deserved triumph. A serene, simply retold tale of dreams pursued and achieved. (source and background notes) (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2015
Grades K-2 King Khosrow loves the finest things in lifeluxurious food, richly colored rugs, lush gardens, and especially music. His court minstrel, Sarkash, is the best musician in the land, but a young singer named Barbad dreams of being the court musician himself, so he packs up his lutelike instrument and sets off to the city. Jealous Sarkash, worried about losing favor, blocks Barbad from even entering the palace, let alone playing for the king. Barbad is undeterred, however, and during the year he tries to meet the king, he befriends the gardener, who sneaks him into the king's verdant garden. Disguising himself by wearing green clothes and even painting his instrument to match the color of the leaves, Barbad hides in a tree and plays beautiful music that enchants the king, who then banishes Sarkash for his meddling. Based on a thousand-year-old Persian poem, Shahegh's retelling emphasizes the rewards of persistence and passion, and her author's note provides additional background about the tale. Ewart's warm, expressive watercolor illustrations add to the charmingly old-fashioned atmosphere.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)