Following upon her initial collection of Abu Ali stories for beginning readers, Abu Ali: Three Tales of the Middle East, Dorothy O. Van Woerkom returns to the hilarious (mis)adventures of this would-be trickster in The Friends of Abu Ali. Here, in The Bag of Rice, our hero resolves a dispute about an imaginary bridge and some imaginary donkeys, by throwing away his (real-life) food! In Cake for Sale, Abu Ali and his friend Hamid argue about whether or not the act of smelling caused a cake to fall in, while being baked. And finally, in The Donkey's Shadow, an argument about the ability to buy (or sell) a donkey's shadow develops between Abu Ali and his friend Nouri.

Although full of arguments, and attempts at trickery, the tales of Abu Ali and his friends are essentially good-hearted, with misunderstandings beings worked out to everyone's satisfaction at the end. Young folklore lovers will enjoy this collection, which will win more than one giggle. The accompanying illustrations, by Harold Berson, are done in both color and black and white, and add to the sense of fun. ( )