Sindbad's Secret

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Sindbad’s Secret is Zeman’s third adaptation from the tales of The
Thousand and One Nights to relate an adventure of Sindbad the Sailor.
Sindbad, her first retelling was published in 1999. The second, Sindbad
in the Land of Giants, was published in 2001.

Sindbad, shipwrecked off the coast of China, is captured by slavers and
brought to India. There he falls in love with Fatima, a dancing girl who
is destined to die with her master, the recently deceased maharajah. In
his efforts to save her, Sindbad is helped by a mother elephant whose
baby he has saved. Eventually, enriched with ivory tusks, he makes a
triumphant return to Baghdad.

Zeman ably captures the larger-than-life quality of Sindbad’s
exploits in this beautiful picture book. She is a good storyteller and
brings immediacy to the story by speaking in the first person as
Sindbad, whose voice is full of colourful imagery. The pages are dense
with events—there’s never a dull moment—but the storytelling is
not jerky, and the pace flows smoothly from one happening to the next.
There’s a nice moral component to the story: Sindbad’s “secret”
is that love is the greatest treasure of all and that his true wealth
consists of his wife and children.

Zeman’s illustrations perfectly complement the text. They are
exquisitely detailed and intricate in execution. Mythical creatures
appear to be straight out of a dream or nightmare. Magical cities float
in starry night skies, and forest scenes riot with exotic plants. The
colours glow like jewels. These illustrations can also be very
affecting, such as when the baby elephant is caught in a trap and is
crying. Each page has an elaborate border with beautiful designs and
motifs appropriate to the culture and historical period. Highly
recommended.