"Aladdin"

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Candice: Welcome to Cracker Croakers for January 1, 2019. I'm your hostess with the mostest Candice Burgeron.

Colton: And, I'm your other host Colton Wyatt.

Candice: Hey, Colton, did you know old stories like fables, ancient legends, and fairy tales tend to remain in the literary world the longest?

Colton: That's true, Candice. They provide most of the fodder for modern superhero movies and fantasy fiction. And, Aladdin is one of the best loved and most adapted of these tales.

Candice: There are hundreds, well maybe dozens of television and movie transformations of Aladdin. These include the newest version by the poet Yasmine Seale. However, Colton, did you know the origins of Aladdin are ambiguous?

Colton: The original story of Aladdin was introduced to the Western world by France some time in the 18th century.

Candice: Aladdin was part of One Thousand And One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled during the Islamic Golden Age that dates back to between the 8th and the 14th centuries. Antoine Galland translated this compulation.

Colton: Galland claimed Aladdin came from a manuscript a Maronite Christian traveler from Aleppo presented to him in 1709. However, scholars have long since been suspect of Galland's story.

Candice: That was until very recently, Colton. The discovery of Syrian adventurer Hanna Diyab's memoirs seem to validate Galland's version of how he came to be in possession of Aladdin.

Colton: Now, Yasmine Seale's new interpretation returns the story back to its roots. By drawing from her Syrian-French heritage, Seale combines both Arabic and French sources in this production.

Candice: Yasmine Seale's Aladdin provides deceptively simple cadences of classic storytelling. There's also an intriguing Chinese connection.

Colton: A Chinese connection?

Candice: One that seems to have been lost over the years by many retellings of Aladdin, especially by film and stage revisions in particular.

Colton: These variations tend to set Aladdin in an Arab-influenced Middle Eastern backdrop.

Candice: Like most young boys his age, Aladdin possesses some wild tendencies, as well as the indolent ways of a street urchin.

Colton: A Maghrebi magician pretends to be his uncle. He draws Aladdin outside the defenses of the city's walls under the pretense of showing him the scenic gardens. Instead, he takes Aladdin to a remote room hidden beneath a stone.

Candice: The magician gives Aladdin a magic ring and sends him into the secret room in search of treasure.

Colton: Aladdin outsmarts the magician, who intends to leave him for dead. He takes the jewels he finds...

Candice: And, a magic lantern.

Colton: Then, heads back home.

Candice: When he spies on the sultan's daughter Badr al-Budur, Aladdin vows to marry her. He wins her hand and builds a fancy palace with the help of the genies who inhabit the lantern.

Colton: However, the evil magician, and his brother, reappear. They cause Aladdin all sorts of problems.

Candice: Here's where Yasmine Seale's version of Aladdin may surprise readers.

Colton: Surprise me, Candice.

Candice: Seale creates a delightful narrative and evokes the mesmerizing voice of Schehrazade, who is recounting this cliffhanger-filled yarn to her sultan husband, in an effort to stay alive.

Colton: Steeped in magic, Seale's translation of Aladdin is stripped of many of the phony adornments that tend to dilute its essence.

Candice: Yasmine Seale's story is an enjoyable retelling of the adventures of a wily peasant boy who grows up to become a beloved ruler.

Colton: Especially for young readers, and those who love Aladdin, Yasmine Seale's version is published by Liveright Publishing and contains an ISBN of 97816314951668.

Candice: That about wraps us up for this edition of Cracker Croakers, Colton.

Colton: Well, smarty-pants. In that case, we'd better say adieu. She's Candice!

Candice: And, he's Colton!

Candice and Colton: And, we invite you to join us again tomorrow for another entertaining edition of Cracker Croakers (Featuring Candice and Colton).

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