About Hoopoe Books

Hoopoe Books is an imprint of The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge - ISHK (www.ishk.net), an educational nonprofit founded more than three decades ago. ISHK started Hoopoe Books in 1998 to publish traditional children’s stories from Afghanistan, collected by Afghan author Idries Shah.

To date there are eleven titles in this award-winning series, all of them richly illustrated.  Told for centuries throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, these stories have universal themes such as overcoming difficulties, building self-esteem and finding peaceful solutions. Called Teaching-Stories by Western psychologists and educators, they are commended for their unique ability to foster thinking skills and perception in young and old alike.

Hoopoe now offers a curriculum to accompany this series that is designed to meet the National Standards in Education and guide students towards mastery of the content required by the California Content Standards in: English-Language Arts, Social Science, Visual, and Performing Arts. These multicultural tales are designed with a wide range of student abilities in mind. Hoopoe Teaching-Stories can be used with: Advanced students, English-language learners, and students with learning disabilities or reading difficulties. 

Starting in 2009 Hoopoe Books will publish additional selected titles for children and young people to expand the range of our list.

Hoopoe books help children develop an understanding
of themselves and the world around them.

From thinking children come thinking adults.