Fables from Aesop [Hardcover]

Aesop (Author), Tom Lynch (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

From century to century, generation to generation, Aesop's fables have entertained, enlightened minds, and warmed hearts around the world. Now in this unique collection, Tom Lynch uses collages of vivid color, intriguing texture and folk art style to re-invent fourteen of these well known and loved fables for today's children.

The crisp retellings of Aesop's tales and the beauty of Tom Lynch's illustrations will encourage readers to look closely before they leap from one fable to the next.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Using fabric collages, debut author/ artist Lynch stitches together a smorgasbord of fables into a colorful picture book quilt. He's rounded up a baker's dozen of the parables and presents them in a format that's short and sweetAone per double-spreadAeach ending with "So remember!" and a pithy moral. The succinct retellings and large type make them appropriate for an audience just beginning to read on their own. Many of the familiar fables contain easy-to-follow lessons, such as the fox and the thirsty goat ("Look before you leap"). However, the lessons of lesser-known parables may elude younger readersAsuch as the tale of Zeus refusing a wedding gift from a snake ("Never accept the offerings of a villain," when nothing in the tale suggests the snake's evil intentions) or the tale of a caged songbird and a bat ("Regrets and precautions are useless after misfortune has come"). Still, the sprightly needlework (the embroidery on the peacock is stunning) enhances each scene and may well inspire readers to meet the challenge of a few more sophisticated tales. The artwork, rendered in bright scraps of fabric, maintains a homespun feel in keeping with the fables' humble origins, and preschoolers will especially enjoy the assorted animal characters who tumble across the pages. Ages 4-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-The lessons are boldly fresh, yet old as time, in this baker's dozen of stories set in rough-hewn appliqu scenes. The ubiquitous tortoise and hare open the assembly of well-known and less familiar tales. Other old favorites include the competition between the Sun and the North Wind, the mouse that rescues the lion, and the fox that flatters the crow into dropping its bit of cheese. The narrative is generally competent, faithful to the spare language usually associated with Aesop. Occasionally Lynch incorporates contemporary vernacular that seems a bit out of sync with other more formal and reserved passages. "'Hold on there,' said the Tortoise. 'I'll bet if we had a race I would win!' 'You've got to be kidding!' laughed the Hare. 'Okay slowpoke, let's go!'" Occasionally the required morals are a bit ponderous: "So remember! Regrets and precautions are useless after misfortune has come." The prose waivers, but the homely creatures stitched in deep-hued fabrics are consistently humorous and appealing. The crude shapes and simple stitches are a nice blend of childlike and more sophisticated artistry. Readers already familiar with the fables and those meeting them for the first time will enjoy this striking presentation.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (October 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670889482
• ISBN-13: 978-0670889488
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,792,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful rendition of classic tales., March 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Fables from Aesop (Hardcover)

When it comes to childrens' books, sometimes the illustration is as important as the text. The illustrations in this book are derived from hand-stitched textile pieces - colorful and imaginitive. Sketches for the textile works are printed on the endpapers. Each page has one of Aesop's fables told briefly enough for a small child to digest, and in simple language that is easy to read out loud. There are many versions of Aesop, of course. I was looking for one that would make these old moral tales palatable for kindergarten and first graders, and this is the one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can judge this book by its cover, August 27, 2010

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fables from Aesop (Picture Puffin Books) (Paperback)

Sometimes, you can tell just by looking that a book is going to be perfect. For me, this is that kind of book.

My favorite illustrator is Clare Beaton -- her Mother Goose is still on the shelf in my oldest son's room, one of our most beloved books. If it had been any less sturdy, we would have worn the covers clean off that book -- but happily, it is a perfect combination of good book + quality construction.

Enough of my raptures about Clare Beaton. Let's talk about Tom Lynch.

THIS is the fable book for our family. The fables are brief, and the ending morals are concise and phrased as you remember: "Slow and steady wins the race," for example. Each fable gets one giant illustration made of pieced fabrics and looking so good you just wish you could touch them. There are 13 fables:

The Tortoise and the Hare
A Lesson for the Foolish Crow (The Fox and the Crow)
Monkey See, Monkey Do
The Suffering Fox
A Lesson Learned Too Late
The Unwelcome Guest
A Time for Patience
The Sun and the North Wind
The Risky Visit (The Fox and the Lion)
The Fox and the Thirsty Goat
The Lion and the Mouse
The Peacock and the Sparrow
The Fox and his Shadow

One teaser -- the title page has the illustration for Sour Grapes, but that fable is not included. However, I know that fable and can tell it from the illustration.

These are extremely memorable illustrations and well-told fables.

Get this one.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great images, March 15, 2011

By 

Kristine Anderson (Redmond, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fables from Aesop (Picture Puffin Books) (Paperback)

Loved the fabric collages in this book! It is amazing how much character can be brought out just in the way the pieces are cut and stitched together. Beautifully done. There are many fables presented here, most of them very familiar, like The Tortoise and The Hare, and others that may not be quite as well-known. Each story is just one page long. If you enjoy Aesop's Fables, this is a great book to get for the wonderful illustrations.