Babayan and the Magic Star

Category Red Turtle
Format PB
Imprint Red Turtle
Price 195

ISBN: 978-81-291-2995-6
Pages: 60 pages
Date: January 2014

ABOUT THIS BOOK

So begins the adventures of Babayan, the wild beast with a mighty roar whom all the
villagers of the far north dread. But what happens when he is magically lifted from the
world he knows and finds himself dangling from a star?
Alone in the night sky, Babayan meets his guide and protector, the Queen of the
Stars, who sends him to the enchanted kingdom of Shayma Bayma, where animals live
together in harmony. There, in the lush tropical forests, Babayan is transformed as he
encounters many fantastic creatures and makes new friends. Yet the call of the Wild
Islands, where creatures still feed on one another, continues to stir his inner beast. Until
he journeys across the Great Sea and faces his past…

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Kiku Adatto was born in Yokohama, Japan, and grew up in the United States and
Europe with her parents, brother and sisters. Every night her father, an immigrant
from Turkey, told stories that blended East and West. She continued this tradition,
and Babayan grew out of the bedtime stories she told her two sons when they were
young. With Babayan and the Magic Star she seeks to revive the oral storytelling
tradition by encouraging children to interpret, retell and continue the story in their
own voice and adapt it to their local cultures and traditions. She hopes to inspire
children to see storytelling as part of discovering and transforming the world.
An award-winning teacher at Harvard University, Kiku is a noted author, scholar
and commentator on art, popular culture and civic life. She is married to political
philosopher Michael Sandel.