We publish timeless, beautifully-illustrated stories for children

We publish timeless, beautifully-illustrated stories for children – designed to help exercise young minds

Idries Shah wrote a series of charming and captivating stories for his own children. These are being produced by the Idries Shah Foundation as richly-illustrated children’s books. So far, the series comprises six titles – including Speak First and Lose, The Tale of the Sands, and The Onion – and six more titles will join the collection in 2022. Our aim is to inspire a whole new generation with these stories and provide them for free to children in deprived societies.

Nutrition for young minds

These aren’t your garden-variety picture books. Fun and entertaining, yet infused with Aesopian wisdom, our children’s books enshrine – in their characters, plots and imagery – patterns and relationships which increase our understanding, flexibility, and breadth of vision.

Idries Shah’s daughter, Safia, refers to the books as ‘seed bombs of ideas’.  She has spent the past few years lovingly breathing new life into these stories. Her choice of internationally-renowned illustrators – including Indo-Canadian Prashant Miranda and Dublin-based Carol Betera – has ensured each title inspires the sense of imagination that lies within us all.

‘These stories…nurture a part of the mind that is unreachable in more direct ways, thus increasing our understanding and breadth of vision’ – Robert Ornstein, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University