#449 of 1001 · October 23, 2021

The Legend of the Persian Carpet by Tomie dePaola and Claire Ewart provides wisdom and delight in equal measure. Of all his precious possessions, King Balash of Persia most prizes an enormous diamond that refracts light into dazzling rainbows. The overly trusting ruler leaves the jewel unguarded and open for public viewing. One day, tragedy strikes: a thief steals the diamond. While riding away on horseback, he accidentally drops it and shatters it into a thousand fragments. Without the diamond’s light, the palace is filled with somber shadows. When a young apprentice weaver named Payam discovers the shards lying on the rocky plane, the king resolves to abandon his royal duties and spend his days sitting and gazing at the twinkling pile. In an effort to pull him out of his stupor, the enterprising boy organizes his fellow textile workers to create a vast carpet that replicates the chromatic beauty of the wondrous gem, and the monarch’s spirits are finally lifted. DePaola, in his first collaboration with an illustrator, adapts a Persian legend associated with a famed sixteenth-century Mamluk carpet. In preparation for her warmly colored illustrations, Ewart spent time studying Persian miniaturists and traveled to witness and gain an understanding of traditional Persian architecture and textile production. #persian #carpet #king #diamond #jewel #gem #weaving #textile #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks