OCTOBER 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Kathleen Gati brings her lilting vocal style to these retellings of Aesop’s fables. An introduction provides remarks on the tales’ history and transmission, and each individual story is located geographically—East Africa for “The Lion and the Mouse” and northern Asia for “The Wolf and the Crane,” for example. Sadly, there is no contextualizing information about how these tales were influenced by the cultures they encountered. The actual stories are lively and pleasant; rather than concluding with a moral, each is punctuated with a question that asks listeners to predict a character’s actions. These moments Gati articulates with gentle emphasis, inviting children into each brief tale. Listeners who follow along with the book will enjoy the lovely wordless illustrations that provide space to ponder. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"A vivid, charming take on these beloved fables." –Kirkus Reviews
"A fresh take on fables with a central theme...recommended." –School Library Journal
School Library Journal
07/22/2022
Gr 1–3—Nine of Aesop's fables, most of which will be familiar to readers, are retold in this lovely offering. Each entry is given its own page with the text featured inside small white rectangular boxes. The remainder of the space is colorfully illustrated with hand-carved linoleum block prints. The featured fables include the familiar "The Lion and the Mouse," "The Ant and the Grasshopper," and "The Tortoise and the Hare," along with not-often-adapted "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Bear and the Bees," and more. Each spread also mentions the fable's country of adaptation. Toward the end of each selection, a question is posed about how the main character feels about the choice they made in the story, "Did Grasshopper sit in the cold listening to her empty stomach growl? Yes, she did!" increasing audience engagement. Front matter has an introduction that explains more about oral storytelling and Aesop himself. Each fable ends with a lesson and focuses on food or drink for the respective animal. The friendly characters are illustrated charmingly, in a style reminiscent of D'Aulaires's books. VERDICT A fresh take on fables with a central theme, this is a recommended purchase for those wishing to update their folktale collections.—Tracy Cronce
OCTOBER 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Kathleen Gati brings her lilting vocal style to these retellings of Aesop’s fables. An introduction provides remarks on the tales’ history and transmission, and each individual story is located geographically—East Africa for “The Lion and the Mouse” and northern Asia for “The Wolf and the Crane,” for example. Sadly, there is no contextualizing information about how these tales were influenced by the cultures they encountered. The actual stories are lively and pleasant; rather than concluding with a moral, each is punctuated with a question that asks listeners to predict a character’s actions. These moments Gati articulates with gentle emphasis, inviting children into each brief tale. Listeners who follow along with the book will enjoy the lovely wordless illustrations that provide space to ponder. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-05-11
A romp across the globe through Aesop’s fables.
In this chatty, friendly collection, Berry notes that versions of these stories have been “told and retold in many countries and different cultures.” She offers a version of “The Heron” from eastern North America, a version of “The Lion and the Mouse” from East Africa, a retelling of “The Ants and the Grasshopper” from East Asia, among others. The stories are short and sweet, but better than the neat retellings are the beautiful block-print illustrations, which evoke both the Grecian aesthetic of antiquity and the various other settings for the tales. Gorgeously crafted wordless pages between subsets of stories give readers a chance to pause and reflect, and with each advancing wordless page, the characters from the subsequent stories join the growing cast as they march happily through the landscape to join a tan-skinned Aesop under a tree. Younger readers will be relieved to see that even the most put-upon creatures—like the poor bee-stung bear from “The Bear and the Bees”—are actually doing just fine. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A vivid, charming take on these beloved fables. (Picture book. 4-8)
