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Michael Hays illustrates
The Hundredth Name


The Hundredth Name


by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
illustrated by Michael Hays
Boyds Mills Press 1995

Salah is sad–sad because his camel, Qadiim, always seems so downcast. But what can he, a mere boy, do to help his camel? Salah has recently has recently learned from his father about the hundred names of Allah– of which mankind knows only ninety-nine. What if Qadiim could learn the hundredth name? Wouldn’t that be something to lift the camel’s spirits and pride?

This rich and eloquent story of a child’s simple faith and love for an animal is set in Muslim Egypt. Michael Hays has handsomely created the village setting on the lush banks of the Nile as well as the liminous starlit night on which a seeming miracle occurs.