By Muriel Mandell, Illustrations by Andre Letria
2011, Starbright Books
Review by Debra L Scott, 12/14/2011
This is a fun retelling of a Turkish Folktale. A small village is taken over by a Mongol tyrant who demands that the poor villagers pay him tribute. One family has barely enough food for their table and can think of nothing to offer except an old donkey. The tyrant becomes angry and threatens to whip the father who dared offer such an unworthy gift. But before the tyrant can punish him, the village wise man steps up and tells the Mongol that the donkey is very intelligent and that he can teach him to read!
Well written and entertaining, children will love hearing about how the clever villager tricks the cruel tyrant and saves the poor family from punishment. The only thing that may be an issue is this sentence at the very beginning: “Once, many years ago, a small village in Anatolia inhabited by the Seljuks was conquered by the Mongols.” It is the only sentence in the story with words that may be unfamiliar not only to children, but to many adults reading it. One might conclude that the rest of the story is likewise difficult to understand, and miss a delightful tale. I would hope that parents and teachers will look past it, or be ready with an answer as to who the Seljuks and the Mongols are, and that Anatolia is the old name for Turkey. ( 
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