I absolutely love the illustrations, but I'm afraid my ignorance about Somali culture may be inhibiting me from getting into this story. This is the tale of Igal Shidad, a wise man who is also a bit cowardly. In this tale, he is traveling to find water, but he keeps getting spooked by sounds and shadows. He prays to Allah for courage, but he also learns that he shouldn't travel in darkness-- he's too frightful.

The idea of Igal Shidad was entertaining. This particular story didn't catch me too much, but there are apparently many stories about Igal, and possibly one of those may be more appealing to me. (For what it's worth: a few of the Somali students who I offered it to just told me, "Oh, yeah, we already know about him. We have seen that a lot.") ( )

This book is about a man named Igal Shidad who is traveling in hopes to find a better home for his family. Igal Shidad puts his faith in God (Allah) and he is able to overcome obstacles. This is a beautiful book!

A traditional folktale concerning Igal Shidad, a foolish wise-man folk-hero from the Somali tradition, is presented here in both English and Somali. The third such picture-book I have read from the Minnesota Humanities Center's Somali Bi-Lingual Book Project - the first two being Dhegdheer: A Scary Somali Folktale and Wiil Waal: A Somali Folktale - it offers a fascinating glimpse into a culture not often explored in American children's books. The story of the eponymous Igal Shidad, who goes looking for greener (ie: wetter) pastures for himself and his family, during a time of great drought, it highlights the importance of belief in Allah (Igal Shidad has a prayer that he continuously repeats to himself, as he walks along), which is, I would imagine, a central tenet of traditional Somali culture.

I have to confess that, although I found The Travels of Igal Shidad moderately entertaining - I liked the night-time incident with the "lion" best, as it reminded me of a similar scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods - this story fell a little flat for me. Somehow, I expected to become more involved in the tale, to care more about finding greener pastures (drought is a serious thing, after all!), to find the night-time adventures more suspenseful. Like the narrative, the gouache illustrations also didn't really impress me, being rather fuzzy and indistinct. Those looking for materials featuring the Somali language and culture will undoubtedly appreciate this one, although I would recommend the other two in this series, mentioned above, before it. ( )