Fables from Aesop - Hardcover

Aesop

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195000773 ISBN 13: 9780195000771

Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr, 1966

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Hardcover, by Ennis Rees with illustrations by J.J. Grandville, published by Oxford University Press, NY, 1966. Dj has b/w illustrations on both panels. Publisher's statement: "Mr. Rees's version of the fables is complemented by the inclusion of many of the wood engravings that J.J. Granville made for an 1838 edition of La Fontaine's Fables,illustrations in which the animals of the stories are sharply characterized." Illustrations are b/w. Includes 187 fables (forty-two were previously published in Poems by Ennis Rees in 1964, six previously published in Arion 3). Publisher's statement: "The wit and vigor with which Ennis Rees retells these one hundred and eighty-seven traditional tales will appeal to readers young and old. As he says, "I have tried to re-create selected fables in verse for our time, and to do it in as lively a way as I could consistent with simplicity." Each age makes its own version of that body of anonymous lore that the ancients ascribed to "Aesop," of whom we know little beyond legend. According to tradition, he was a slave who lived in about the sixth century before Christ. In many instances, fables ascribed are surely kindred to fables of India and China, as well as to certain of the Brer Rabbit tales--all from that ocean of story that has encircled the globe since time immemorial...Mr. Rees's version of the fables is complemented by the inclusion of many of the wood engravings that J.J. Grandville made for an 1838 edition of La Fontaine's Fables, illustrations in which the animals of the stories are sharply characterized."

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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.

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