The Enchanted Storks: A Tale of Bagdad - Aaron Shepard, Alisher Dianov

In some ways this is a fairly standard folk/fairy type tale, but with a few unique twists that make it very worthwhile. First, as the title suggests, it is set in lovely, historic Bagdad and has a delightful Middle Eastern flavor. Second, the story doesn't always go quite how one would expect. The illustrations are absolutely fabulous! If you enjoy this tale I would also recommend The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks - another 'exotic' folktale featuring bird transformations.