The Phoenix of Persia (One Story, Many Voices)

Product Description In a bustling marketplace in Iran, a traditional storyteller regales her audience with the tale of Prince Zal and the Simorgh. High up on the Mountain of Gems lives the Simorgh, a wise phoenix whose flapping wings disperse the seeds of life across the world. When King Sam commands that his long-awaited newborn son Zal be abandoned because of his white hair, the Simorgh adopts the baby and raises him alongside her own chicks and teaches him everything she knows. But when the king comes to regret his actions, Prince Zal will learn that the most important lesson of all is forgiveness.

In this special edition, the story has been set to music, with each instrument representing a different character. You can download music composed by Amir Eslami (ney), Nilufar Habibian (qanun), Saeid Kord Mafi (santur), and Arash Moradi (tanbur). The music accompanies Sally Pomme Clayton’s stunning narration of this classic tale from the Shahnameh. Review Not yet published in the UK From the Back Cover In a bustling marketplace in Iran, a traditional storyteller regales her audience with the tale of Prince Zal and the Simorgh. High up on the Mountain of Gems lives the Simorgh, a wise phoenix whose flapping wings disperse the seeds of life across the world. When King Sam commands that his long-awaited newborn son Zal be abandoned because of his white hair, the Simorgh adopts the baby and raises him alongside her own chicks. She teaches him everything she knows. But when the king comes to regret his actions, Prince Zal will learn that the most important lesson of all is forgiveness. About the Author Sally Pomme Clayton is a pioneering storyteller and writer. As a storyteller she loves to bring fairytales, fragments of forgotten myths, folktales and epics to new life. She has published more than ten children’s books, most recently The King with Dirty feet (Otter- Barry Books 2018). Find out more at: www.sallypommeclayton.com Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif was born in Tehran in 1979 and is an award-winning illustrator whose work has been published worldwide. To illustrate The Phoenix of Persia , Amin has used his distinctive sgraffito technique (from the Italian word sgraffire which means `to scratch’), which involves scratching through a layer of still-wet paint to reveal what’s underneath.