3.5
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
ByPublisher Description
NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER
BEST OF THE YEAR:
NPR - Booklist - School Library Journal - Chicago Public Library - Evanston Public Library - Kirkus - Wall Street Journal
The Silk Road comes to life in this picaresque epic adventure with twists and turns and a wonderful surprise ending from Printz Medalist Daniel Nayeri
This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called “Seller of Dreams”. The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey’s life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir— furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life—as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he’ll be a free man...but will they all survive that long?
Fans of Salman Rushdie's Haroun and The Sea of Stories and The Little Prince will fall in love with the bond between Monkey and Samir—in this swashbuckling all-ages page-turner from national bestseller Daniel Nayeri and featuring full-color illustrations from Daniel Miyares.
P R A I S E
“Adventurous, funny and nimble. Daniel Nayeri understands this relationship between storytelling and magic, and finds every opportunity to celebrate it. ”
—The New York Times
“Daniel Nayeri and artist Daniel Miyares conjure a richly colored 11th-century realm of merchants and swindlers, camels and donkeys, caravanserai and spice bazaars, and the gaudiest array of mercenaries ever assembled in a book for young readers.”
—The Wall Street Journal
4 STARRED REVIEWS
★“An epic adventure with an enduring message about love and family.”
— School Library Journal (starred)
★ “Filled with the multicultural hustle and bustle of the Silk Road, enlivened by the unpredictable nature of unreliable storytellers, and adorned with whimsical, colorful illustrations, this is a strange, wondrous, and creative tale. Can family be found along the Silk Road, or will everyone ultimately betray you? An enticing taste of a rich historical world."
—Kirkus (starred)
★ “Readers will find more than expected, including tender philosophies, complex characterizations, heaps of humor, a masterful twist, and most importantly, just a great story, beautifully told.”
—Booklist (starred)
★ “Blends playful humor, solid pacing, and fully realized characters into a witty, assassin-studded traveler’s yarn that also serves as a memorable, lively portrait of the 11th-century Silk Road.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Nayeri’s immersive writing style brings a you-are-there energy to the depiction of the harsh but gorgeous environment of the Silk Road, and an informative author’s note further details the geography of the trail, its economic and social value, and the many people who traversed it. The book ends with a simple but profound reminder that love comes in many forms, it is almost always messy and unpredictable, and it is almost always worth every effort toward it.”
—BCCB
“Daniel Nayeri has a gift. The child that reads this will not forget it, and how many books that come out for this age range can say the same? Is there anything else out there like it? I will simply say this: If you hand this book to someone, they will definitely have an opinion of it. You may, in fact, end up loving it in the end, or cursing it to the heavens. A tome with a soul tied inextricably to that of its titular character. Better read it.”
—Betsy Bird, SLJ's Fuse 8 Blog
BEST OF THE YEAR:
NPR - Booklist - School Library Journal - Chicago Public Library - Evanston Public Library - Kirkus - Wall Street Journal
The Silk Road comes to life in this picaresque epic adventure with twists and turns and a wonderful surprise ending from Printz Medalist Daniel Nayeri
This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called “Seller of Dreams”. The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey’s life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir— furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life—as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he’ll be a free man...but will they all survive that long?
Fans of Salman Rushdie's Haroun and The Sea of Stories and The Little Prince will fall in love with the bond between Monkey and Samir—in this swashbuckling all-ages page-turner from national bestseller Daniel Nayeri and featuring full-color illustrations from Daniel Miyares.
P R A I S E
“Adventurous, funny and nimble. Daniel Nayeri understands this relationship between storytelling and magic, and finds every opportunity to celebrate it. ”
—The New York Times
“Daniel Nayeri and artist Daniel Miyares conjure a richly colored 11th-century realm of merchants and swindlers, camels and donkeys, caravanserai and spice bazaars, and the gaudiest array of mercenaries ever assembled in a book for young readers.”
—The Wall Street Journal
4 STARRED REVIEWS
★“An epic adventure with an enduring message about love and family.”
— School Library Journal (starred)
★ “Filled with the multicultural hustle and bustle of the Silk Road, enlivened by the unpredictable nature of unreliable storytellers, and adorned with whimsical, colorful illustrations, this is a strange, wondrous, and creative tale. Can family be found along the Silk Road, or will everyone ultimately betray you? An enticing taste of a rich historical world."
—Kirkus (starred)
★ “Readers will find more than expected, including tender philosophies, complex characterizations, heaps of humor, a masterful twist, and most importantly, just a great story, beautifully told.”
—Booklist (starred)
★ “Blends playful humor, solid pacing, and fully realized characters into a witty, assassin-studded traveler’s yarn that also serves as a memorable, lively portrait of the 11th-century Silk Road.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Nayeri’s immersive writing style brings a you-are-there energy to the depiction of the harsh but gorgeous environment of the Silk Road, and an informative author’s note further details the geography of the trail, its economic and social value, and the many people who traversed it. The book ends with a simple but profound reminder that love comes in many forms, it is almost always messy and unpredictable, and it is almost always worth every effort toward it.”
—BCCB
“Daniel Nayeri has a gift. The child that reads this will not forget it, and how many books that come out for this age range can say the same? Is there anything else out there like it? I will simply say this: If you hand this book to someone, they will definitely have an opinion of it. You may, in fact, end up loving it in the end, or cursing it to the heavens. A tome with a soul tied inextricably to that of its titular character. Better read it.”
—Betsy Bird, SLJ's Fuse 8 Blog
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams Reviews
3.5
JoAnna
Created about 2 months agoShare
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Jaida
Created about 2 months agoShare
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“⁺˚⋆｡°₊°｡⋆˚⁺⁺˚⋆｡°₊°｡⋆˚⁺⁺˚⋆｡°₊°｡⋆˚⁺⁺˚⋆｡°⁺˚⋆｡°₊°｡⋆
I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless you want to suffer like I did when I read this at eleven years old. Nothing made sense and all the characters are delusional, in like the worst way possible. I don't understand how this book has any good ratings or reviews. I would never subject anyone to this kind of torture. This book should be called the many assassination attempts of Samir the seller of dreams, because no one secedhe isn't actually assassinated even once. The book starts of with Omar saying "The first time I was stoned to death by an angry mob. I wasn't even a criminal." Can you guess how many times he was stoned to death? None not one single time. Sigh*
The characters
~~~~~~~~~~
Omar ~ where do I even start? Ok so Omar is this eleven year old kid you got in trouble with some monks. Why? Because he had the crazy idea that love is a real thing. This boy drove me insane, he has this weird infatuation with a girls bare underarms...as if that wasn't weird enough he's also a pathological liar, nothing that comes out of that boys mouth should be believed.
Mara ~ This girl. So she is some sort of Performer or something with her father. I don't understand why Omar had such a big crush on her, like everything she said to him was passive aggressive or condescending. She was honestly just toxic imo.
Samir ~ This guy was so annoying, I don't even know how to get across to you how infuriating he was. So many people want to kill him, and he couldn't care less. It's like he thinks he's invincible or something. Idrk he sold "dreams" and that's about it.
Papa ~ he was Mara's father I guess, it kinda seems like he was maybe like a friend posing as her father for some reason or another but it was never really confirmed nor denied.
What to expect”
Carrie K
Created 2 months agoShare
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megan
Created 3 months agoShare
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Laura
Created 4 months agoShare
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“Lots of unbelievable stories from the Silk Road”
About Daniel Nayeri
Award-winning author Daniel Nayeri, who was born in Iran and immigrated to Oklahoma, captivated readers with his poignant memoir Everything Sad Is Untrue (Printz Award) and the epic adventure The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams (Newbery Honor). A former publisher, editor, and pastry chef, he resides along the East Coast with his family.
Daniel Miyares
Daniel Miyares is a critically acclaimed picture book author and illustrator. Some of his books include: Float, Night Out, That is My Dream, and Bring Me A Rock!. Daniel has been called "…a master of visual storytelling." – Jody Hewston, Kinderlit, and "…enchanting, versatile" – The New York Times. He believes that our stories have the power to connect us all. Daniel's story currently takes place in Lenexa, KS with his wife, their two wonderful children, and a dog named Violet that gives them all a run for their money.
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