From Publishers Weekly
Beautifully designed, this lush, oversize volume showcases Pinkney's (The Ugly Duckling) artistry in grand style. There's a king's ransom worth of material here, as Pinkney serves up more than 60 of the ancient Greek slave-philosopher's fables. Aesop's wisdom spills across the pages as freely as Pinkney's glorious watercolors, alight with the many creatures who people the tales, from fiddling grasshoppers and diligent ants to wily foxes, clever crows, brave mice and grateful lions. Each of the vigorous retellings concludes with the kind of succinct moral that centuries of readers have come to expect (e.g., "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched"; "You are judged by the company you keep"). And whether the homilies concern a wolf in sheep's clothing or sour grapes, the timeless virtues resonate as freshly as the day they were minted. Pinkney brings his considerable talent to bear on everything from thumbnail animal portraits to sweeping full-page vistas of hearth and woodlands, and his detail, delicacy of line and subtle palette create an elegant foil for the simple parables. If there's room on the shelf for only one picture book version of Aesop, this could be it. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5-- Fifty-eight of the fables attributed to Aesop are given a fresh and totally inviting look here. In retelling the tales, Gatti uses spare but evocative language and includes the requisite moral for each. Many of Aesop's best-loved selections are included, but quite a few equally clever, if lesser known, fables find their way into this collection. Great attention has been paid to the arrangement of type, and both text and illustrations are beautifully reproduced on a heavy white paper stock. Employing a style reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts and Persian miniatures, Salter excels in the decorative aspect of her work. Detailed borders surround the stylized animal characters and enrich each story. Executed in gouache, the paintings are most successful when occupying a full page. The smaller paintings are attractive but lack the detail found in the larger ones. The colors are a pleasing mix of earthy brown, red, and green. While many versions exist, this book's artwork sets it apart. --Denise Anton Wright, Illinois State University, NormalCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. An acclaimed illustrator has set himself an ambitious task: retelling and visually reinterpreting 60 of Aesop's traditional tales. And he has succeeded brilliantly, bringing vivid new life to these ancient fables by creating pencil, colored pencil, and watercolor illustrations that are subtle and delicate in color but dynamic and dramatic in composition and in size. Pinkney is particularly successful at investing his animal characters with personality and panache, but his human characters also come alive on the page. Beginning with the illustrated endpapers, every page of this beautifully designed, lavish book is a delight for the eye and an invitation to the imagination. Happily, Pinkney's text proves equal to his art. His language, though formal, is subtly witty and begs to be read aloud, a fitting tribute to the oral tradition of the tales themselves. This first-rate edition is as artful, witty, and wise as old Aesop himself, and it will also stand the test of time. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek


Card catalog description
Presents an illustrated collection of moral tales from Aesop.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Touched with passion, humor, & life, here are Aesop's wonderful animals & the messages of their feats & foibles, illustrated in beautiful full-color paintings. Includes "The Fox & the Grapes," "The Hare & the Tortoise," others. 10" x 13". All ages

ANNOTATION

An illustrated collection of twenty-four Aesop fables selected from those populated only by animals, arranged in categories such as lion fables, fox fables, and wolf fables.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A collection of nearly sixty fables from Aesop, including such familiar ones as "The Grasshopper and the Ants," "The North Wind and the Sun," "Androcles and the Lion," "The Troublesome Dog," and "The Fox and the Stork."

SYNOPSIS

Rediscover the timeless tales of children's literature in this beautifully designed series from Pavilion. Exquisitely illustrated and published in uniform editions, these are a must for every child's bookshelf. With 40 color illustrations.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In her first book, German artist Drr uses pencil and charcoal to illustrate a particularly imaginative selection of 17 classic fables. Although many entries are familiar, Thuswaldner makes room for more unusual choices. In "A Dress for the Moon,'' for example, the moon's mother complains of the moon's ever-changing size, which makes her "the despair of the very best of dressmakers!'' The retellings are graceful and, true to Aesop, do not tack on any aphoristic morals. With its sophisticated design, however, the volume lacks child appeal. Sketchy and airy, the art is more conceptual than purely narrative; the duotone presentation may obscure the visual transitions between many of the spreads. Color remains the province of the type, printed in a distractingly bright, tomato red that seems almost to vibrate against the stark white paper. All ages.

Children's Literature - Deborah Zink Roffino

Classics like "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse," "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Hare and the Tortoise," "The Crow and the Pitcher," and "The Lion and the Mouse" are included in this medley of thirteen of famous tales. Soft, detailed watercolors in muted shades are saturated with details that add to each story. The moral is clearly stated after each fable. The simplicity makes this edition perfect for teaching youngsters the tricks to constructing fables.

School Library Journal

A volume that is imbued with a decidedly European sensibility. The 17 selections range from the familiar "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" 'to those that rarely find their way into American anthologies, e.g., "The Empty Head'' and "A Dress for the Moon.'' The fables are retold in a matter-of-fact style and are illustrated with large-scale pencil drawings. Drr is adept at depicting animals' forms, but her humans are slightly awkward. Also, in spite of some endearing scenese.g., a full-front closeup of the tortoise heading over the finish lineall of the characters remain objectified and distant. Perhaps the most disturbing quality of the art is that there is no moisture, sparkle, or sign of life within the creatures' eyes. With so many Aesop collections available, the need for this one is limited.

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