Publishers Weekly
Several previously published titles make a comeback. The paper-over-board Who's Got Game?: Three Fables by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison, illus. by Pascal Lemaitre, collects The Ant or the Grasshopper?; The Lion or the Mouse?; and Poppy or the Snake? first published in 2003 and gathered together for the first time. In a starred review of Ant, PW wrote, "Aesop's freewheeling Grasshopper and industrious Ant become `Foxy G and his ace Kid A' in this witty, hip-hop-inspired update." Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
FEB/MAR 08 - AudioFile
Toni Morrison reads three fables by Aesop that she has updated with her son, Slade. She gives each classic vitality and invites listeners to reexamine the moral found in the ending. In the first story, her hip-hop rhythm engages the listener in the story of Foxie G. (Grasshopper), a fun-loving, basketball-playing music fan, and his cohort ace, Kid A (Ant). The second story, a retelling of the lion rescued from a thorn by a small mouse, also rhymes, but Morrison gives its gentler rhythms a softer narration. The last story, "Poppy or the Snake," tells of a grandfather who uses story to teach his grandson about paying attention. The story is rich in dialect as Morrison reads, especially in the character of the "sass-mouthed" snake. S.W. 2008 Grammy Nominee © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
