Aladdin and Other Tales from The Arabian Nights is a children’s classic that will entertain children as well as adult readers. It is based on the original folklore tales of Arabian Nights which dates back to an oral tradition. One of the main characters is Aladdin’s Genie which is a supernatural being who is able to grant Aladdin wishes. I found this story to be incredibly complex with many twists and turns. In fact, it is a collection of different narratives that incorporate many fairy tale motifs such as magical objects, trickery, and the granting of wishes.
In addition, Walt Disney has also produced a variant on this fairy tale and edited the story by producing their Western version of the story. This element lends the story to comparative literature since the original version would represent the ideals of the Islamic culture, while Walt Disney variant would incorporate beliefs that are valued by Western culture. For example, the original story is not romantic in that it’s “author” was apparently a new bride who had to entertain the king, her new husband, by reading him stories since he planned to consummate the marriage and then have her killed so that he was free to marry another. Certainly, this new bride had to earn her right to the thrown by the excellence of her literary compositions. One boring night of storytelling would end in her demise. This is certainly not any woman’s dream come true; in Cinderella, it was enough to wed royalty. In addition, Aladdin is a young ruffian whose adventures take him to outwit pirate like characters starting with a magician. His abilities to survive in an unfriendly world by his cunning behavior make him the hero of the story. In fact, like Cinderella, he falls in love with the Sultan’s daughter and gains entrance into the royal family by an advantageous marriage. Aladdin, like the Cinderella, is initially a financially impoverished character who in the end use supernatural beings to marry into politically established families. Cinderella uses the Fairy Godmother while Aladdin uses his Genie.

Age group: 8 and up ( )