Sinbad and Other Stories from the Arabian Nights by Husain Haddawy

[King Bob]

I had a great illustrated edition of some of these stories when I was younger, so I thought I'd read the source. The stories were basically the same, but with more detail, and additional episodes. Sinbad and 'Ali-Baba were both enjoyable, but Aladdin (here 'Ala al-din) was really long and I thought kind of dragged. I gave up on the rest of the book. The next story was Qumar al-Zaman and his two sons, in which he imprisons his son because he won't marry, and likewise another king imprisons his (own) daughter for the same  reason, and two djinn (Haddawy always uses the word "demon" and I would have preferred djinn or ifrit to keep the Arabian mood) unite them because they are so beautiful. I vaguely remembered this story from my old edition, but here it had so many quotations of poems (perhaps famous in the Middle East?) that it was a slog and I gave up.

A few days later I saw the same illustrated edition I used to have in the used bookstore. I think it was part of the "Illustrated Junior Classics". I read one of the Sinbad stories, and it was a bit simpler, but just about as good, and it had the great mid-century illustrations. So I'd recommend that edition. I may go back and buy it.