This is just like the movie but more descriptive. Aladdin who is very poor ends up discovering a magic genie lamp! He ends up being friends with him and his wishes come true. ( )

"Aladdin and The Enchanted Lamp" is a folktale that has been retold by many, and has gone through hundreds of transformations. Phillip Pullman decided to tell his version of the story.
The story takes place in China, and the main character of the story is Aladdin, a mischievous son of a tailor Mustafa. Aladdin is troubling his dad so much that Mustafa dies of worries, leaving his wife to look after Aladdin. One day Aladdin meet a guy, named Moor, who claims to be his uncle. Moor is such a charming and cunning person that he makes Aladdin believe in everything he says. So, one day, Moor asks Aladdin to go with him inside the magic garden and get him a magic lamp. Aladdin is thrilled to please his uncle and does as his uncle asks. Very shortly though he realizes that Moor is an evil man, who wants nothing but a magic lamp. When Aladdin tries to accuse him with wrong doing, Moor decides to kill Aladdin by leaving him inside the tunnel. Aladdin spends three days beneath the earth, but is miraculously saved by the magic ring that he finds inside the garden. The jinnee of the ring helps him to escape his death and brings him home safely. But the magic ring is not the only magic object that Aladdin takes with him from the tunnel. Aladdin also takes a magic lamp that Moor so desperately desires. Accidentally, Aladdin learns of its powers, and the lamp become the tool that helps him marry the Princess Badr-al-Budur. He uses the magic lamp to help him provide the sultan with his demands, so that he can ask for his daughter’s hand. Even though it seems that he finally has it all, Moor returns to get what he thinks belongs to him.
This version of the story is just as charming as many previous ones. One of the differences is that the story takes place in China, the original place of the of folktale. Pullman thought that the actual background of the story is important, so he kept it. But there are a lot of twists and turns in his interpretation of the story that are new and different. The enchanted lamp though is still the center of the plot. I think that this version of the book is more appropriate for the ages 6-10, because the accent is placed on the text, not the illustrations. ( )

Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp was interesting. Aladdin was the son of a tailor named Mustafa. When Mustafa dies, it is only Aladdin and his mother. Aladdin’s life changes when he meets the deceiving Moor who claims to be his uncle. The Moor tricks Aladdin into getting a lamp for him. Yet Aladdin begins to suspect that the Moor is a sorcerer and refuses to turn it over. Aladdin then discovers that the lamp is magical. From that point, his life completely changes.When I read the book, this story was very fantasy. I like this story. ( )

Pullman, P. (2005). Aladdin and the enchanted lamp. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.

Aladdin was the son of a tailor named Mustafa. When Mustafa dies, it is only Aladdin and his mother. According to his mother, Aladdin is a “lazy wretch” (p. 7) whose trade is to “make mischief” (p. 7). Aladdin’s life changes when he meets the deceiving Moor who claims to be his uncle. The Moor tricks Aladdin into getting a lamp for him. Yet Aladdin begins to suspect that the Moor is a sorcerer and refuses to turn it over. Aladdin then discovers that the lamp is magical. From that point, his life completely changes.

Interestingly, according to Pullman, although the first version was written in Arabic, Aladdin actually lived in China. The author thought that this was an important aspect and decided to leave this part in his retelling of Aladdin.

Like other folktales, a magical object plays a key role in the story. In this case, the object is a lamp that has a jinnee. Much of the story centers on the magical lamp.

Although this version of Aladdin is different from the Disney version, it contains drama, suspense, and romance. The double-paged illustrations further enhance the story, captivating readers’ interests.