Tales from Kalila Wa Dimna: For Students of Arabic

Rating:
Summary: a great way to expand your knowledge of arabic
Review: I have an older edition of the book and cassettes, from 1989. They are excellent. The original stories, from centuries ago and all with a moral, are rewritten in a slightly simplified version of modern Arabic. They are much more interesting than typical textbook fare. The stories are carefully sequenced to recycle vocabulary, each story has a vocabulary gloss, and there is an alphabetical dictionary at the back of the book listing words from the stories (typical Arabic-English dictionaries list words by roots - a system much harder for a beginner to use). The tapes are very good. They are clear and read at a good speed. The only reason I haven't given the book 5 stars is because I am writing my review based on the older edition. But it sounds as though the new expanded edition may be even better.