This is a small booked packed with a powerful message! We loved the questions at the end and the games too!

We really enjoyed this book! The story & pictures were beautiful, and it was a very fun read! I would definitiely reccomend this for all little kiddies & its a story worthy of a place on any bookshelf!

I very much enjoy the Circle Round series of folk tales! I like learning about fables and folk tales from different cultures. The art in this book is so beautiful and engaging for children and adults. I also really like the suggested activities, games, and crafts. This book could very easily be incorporated into lesson plans for a multi-faceted study of the folk tale. Highly recommended!

This is just such a cute book. Did my daughter ask me to read it again to her once again yes. This is such beautiful message. A person's inside is what counts, how they look, or dress does not make a person. If I could get away with feeding my pockets at all parties with certain family members to just teach them this lesson I would do it in a heartbeat. The art work is just stunning, the activities are so fun. Kids will love this book. Thank you so much for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. I can't wait to use it in a story time and help others learn this fabulous moral.

What a funny story! Really enjoyed the pictures. The crafts and activity ideas at the end are such a great idea. I appreciate the author adding discussion points regarding the themes of the story too.

This fable from the Middle East is given new life with bright, engaging illustrations, and an entertaining presentation by the host of the Circle Round podcast. Listeners who are familiar with the podcast will be excited to read the folktale with such vibrant illustrations.

The story has a fable-like quality, with a moral and a lesson at the end. The author does a great job of including extension activities such as readers theater, reader response, and crafts. This would be a great selection for a classroom or library as it offers so many more resources to build on.

I enjoyed this colourful children's book based on folk tales from around the world. The illustrations were fun and I enjoyed how the text was wrapped around the illustrations. I thought it might be a world story that I knew given its similarity to a story in the Bible and The Emperor's New Clothes but in actual fact it had a different twist. It was a thoughtful read and there were questions at the end that could be asked if you were reading this book out loud to children in a class context.

My children (7 and 9) loved me reading this story to them - just the right length for a one night bedtime story read for them. They laughed out loud and we discussed it for a few days afterwards. I love introducing them to stories set in different countries and cultures and the thinking/discussion points and activities at the end of the book are a great bonus. Good to encourage discussion as well as linking in with the type of deeper thinking they are encouraged to do at school. Lots to love about this book.

I realize that Nasruddin stories belong to many people and many cultures, and have manifested themselves in many ways, but I was surprised that a story claiming to be a Middle Eastern Folktale would not have a single hijab wearing woman on the pages. Similarly, I was surprised that in this re-telling, a children's story, so much of the focus is on wine. Sure, to some Nasruddin is a religious Muslim man, perhaps to some he is a Muslim that drinks, but all that aside, it is a children's book and in many of the versions, wine is not even a part of the story, so I found it a bit puzzling. The pictures are quirky and silly, like the character at the center, but ultimately the story was missing cultural richness that I have come to love as much as the wisdom that is shared.

When the governor announces that there is to be a town-wide banquet, no one is more excited than Nasruddin. He works hard to prepare for the party, but when he gets there, something isn't right. The townspeople start judging him on his appearance. Nasruddin is very wise, so he thinks up a plan to show his neighbors that what's inside is more important than what a person looks like.

This might have been a more serious tale if it weren't for the noodle-style illustrations that made me want to giggle as I paged through this simple story. I was perplexed by the peeing dog on the first page, but otherwise I found the pictures charming and the perfect complement to the story. I can't decide if the plot is believable or not, as it feels like a parody, but people can be remarkably shallow, just like in the story. Either way, this is precisely the sort of book I would enjoy reading to a class of kindergartners. The fun craft suggestions and educational additions at the end make this a fun option for teachers on a budget.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Storey Publishing, I was able to read "The Tale of the Unwelcome Guest". I love a good wholesome folktale and the author, Rebecca Sheir, did a beautiful job in sharing this folktale with us. Sheir brought "The Tale of the Unwelcome Guest" in such a way that children could easily understand the moral of the story. Love the details, the illustrations by Mert Tugen, are stunning and the use of colors is impactful. Another detail that was appreciated was that of providing comprehension and other activities to do once you finish reading the book, this was a bonus. Recommended for home and would be great for a Language Arts class.

A fun and colorful retelling of a centuries old folktale. Nasruddin the wise man (and winemaker) is looking forward to going to the governor's banquet after working all day at his vineyard, but he loses track of time and doesn't have time to go home and change his clothes. When he shows up at the banquet, he's treated poorly and ignored by everyone (even though they're all drinking his wine!) because of what he's wearing. He goes home, bathes, and puts on his finest clothes, then returns to the banquet. This time, he's welcomed by all, and the governor invites him to sit next to her, and eat all he wants. What happens next is silly and fun enough to make kids laugh, but will teach them a good lesson too about judging others by their appearance. The illustrations throughout are delightful, filled with lots of color and detail, and really add a lot of action and whimsy to the tale. Following the story are various storytelling-related activities, including craft projects, creative writing projects, and discussion questions.

#TheUnwelcomeGuest #NetGalley

I LOVED this book!

I loved the way it was written, loved the folktale, the illustrations and the activities at the end - everything about the book worked for me and I thought it was brilliant

I do love books that retell folktales and this one was great, the characters were brilliant, I loved how the story was told and the pace was spot on. It was easy to follow and understand too - a great book to read with children!

It is 5 stars from me for this one, no hesitation at all in giving it top marks!

it is a great book and there are plenty of added extras and food for thought (you will get the pun when you read the book!) - very highly recommended!!

This was such a fun and insightful book. The illustrations are so vivid. It also has a very important theme throughout the book. I also like that they include extra activities in the back of the book that you can complete with kids.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it's a perfect way to teach children to not judge someone by what they look like or what clothes they wear.
The storyline was great, the illustrations were very eye-catching and at the end, they had extra activities for the children to carry out based on what they had read and learnt in the story.

The Unwelcome Guest is about how people often make assumptions or preconceived notions of other people for numerous reasons-- in this case it would be that Nasruddin was judged unfairly for the way that he chose to dress and when he came back he was treated better from his peers.

I like how this book is teaching the younger generation how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and how it can affect the mindset of people regardless of how old you are.

I also liked how at the end Rebecca offered some questions to the audience so you are able to have a conversation with your child/children. I also liked how she included some activities for the child(ren) to do after they are finished with the book. I also loved the illustrations that Tugen did that were throughout the book. I can only imagine how stunning 'The Unwelcome Guest' would be in a hardcopy form rather than an electronic version!

A book that seems a suitable choice to branch out of a podcast collecting the world's folktales and sharing their lessons anew. Here, the town governor is holding a banquet for everyone, but the wise man (and the fellow who makes the wine they're getting sloshed on!) has come in his work clothes, and is being shunned left, right and centre. Dashing off to get all spruced up and resplendent in his own civic best, he has a surprising lesson for the revellers who didn't want to share the time of day with him. Clear and to-the-point illustrations are the background, and the text is nice and brief with just a few words per page, and some asides and other characters' speeches in different fonts for the storyteller to try out a new accent on. Also included are several classroom and group activities, more or less connected to the piece. All in all, if you ignore the fact the hero would definitely make some pointed remarks about him making the wine in his moral-revealing speech, there is very little wrong here. Four and a half stars.