Tal: His Marvelous Adventures with Noom-Zor-Noom

Tal: His Marvelous Adventures with Noom-Zor-Noom

Author	Paul Fenimore Cooper
Illustrator	Ruth Reeves
Cover artist	Reeves (2009, at least)
Genre	Fantasy, children's literature
Publisher	William Morrow and Company
Publication date	1929
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	305 pp
ISBN	1-930900-08-2 (2001)
OCLC	423219
LC Class	PZ8.C792 Tal
Preceded by	Tricks of Women and Other Albanian Tales
Followed by	Island of the Lost

Tal: His Marvelous Adventures with Noom-Zor-Noom is a children's fantasy novel by Paul Fenimore Cooper, illustrated by Ruth Reeves, and published by William Morrow in 1929. New editions were published in 1957 by Stephen Daye Press and in 2001 by Purple House Press. The story features an orphan who goes on a quest to the land of Troom with a wise storyteller, Noom-Zor-Noom, and his talking donkey.

Plot summary

A man and his talking donkey take a young boy, Tal, on an adventure. The man has been chosen to tell a story on an occasion of great importance and it must be the very best story possible. The man has chosen Tal to travel with him, thinking that the boy will be able to help him choose the right story. Each day they travel through different lands and meet new characters, and each night the man shares a new story with Tal. He is expecting that, by journey's end, Tal will choose the best story.

Reception

Tal has been compared favorably to The Wizard of Oz and also has a journey plot.

Noom-Zor-Noom's stories

The book contains numerous stories that Noom-Zor-Noom tells on their way to Troom.

• "The Enchanted Tapestry"
• "The Turtle"
• "The Cloud"
• "The Green Horse"
• "Millitinkle"
• "The Music Box"
• "Trumbilloo the Magician"
• "Sar, Nar, and Jinook"
• "The Cobbler"
• "Bantagooma"
• "Tarrandar's Secret"
• "The Toy Maker"
• "The Four Winds"
• "The Great Giant Bunggah"

Main characters

• Tal
• Noom-Zor-Noom
• Millitinkle

Minor characters

• King Tazzarin of Troom
• The Mellikanoo
• The Wimzies
• The Elephant Ferryman

Storytellers in Troom

• Repper-Tep-Tep
• Brah
• Akadon
• Punda-Poo
• Noom-Zor-Noom

Locations

• Martoona
• Troom

External links

• TAL at Purple House Press (80th Anniversary Edition, 2009)