This delightful collection of nine Iraqi tales of varying length would be a pleasure to read aloud, with its vaariety of characters' voices and its clear and lively style… Laird's introduction paints a picture of Baghdad and Basra before the war, and of the simple huts and quiet villages in the countryside. Apart from being fine entertainment, these stories reveal a culture that it is a crime to destroy. - Sunday Times

The wonder of this collection resides in the background details of the animals and in the language that Elizabeth Laird uses in theseretellings. They make the stories seem refreshingly different and new-found, even though their origins are far in the past. - Guardian

A Fistful of Pearls is enchanting. Its baddies are wolves and theives; its stories are fabulous, and they are just the right length. Its tone is ideal for reading aloud, and perhaps this, more than real baddies and fewer pictures, will encouage children to read for themselves. And bedtime stories from Iraq can surely remind us that some innocence is worth preserving when some real-life baddies are plentiful enough. - Daily Telegraph

Today’s children may have a limited view of anything labelled Iraq, and this delightful collection of nine folk tales could do much to offer them an alternative picture of a gentle culture in which lessons about being kind and forgiving rather than greedy, selfish or envious can be learned through the activities of caliphs and princes, and of magic and talking animals - School Librarian

Elizabeth Laird makes her contribution towards the process of the country's restoration and reminds us of some of the qualities that are unique to Iraq's literary tradition. The tales contain plenty of humour, and a sprinkling of magic. They are a pleasure to read. - Ibby Link