Mice, Morals, & Monkey Business - Hardcover

Wormell, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0762424044 ISBN 13: 9780762424047

Publisher: Running Press, 2005

Synopsis

Award-winning illustrator Christopher Wormell brings his vivid artwork to the classic Aesop's Fables, a cornerstone of children's literature, in a visual feast to delight both children and adults. Gorgeous linoleum block prints illustrate a key moment in the story, highlighting the moral printed in Wormell's hand-cut typeface on the opposite page. This simple approach encourages parent-child interaction through storytelling, while an appendix provides each tale in more detail, along with a thumbnail of the illustration. Wormell's children's books are so beautiful that they double as adult art and gift books.

About this title

About the Author

Christopher Wormell is the celebrated English wood engraver whose illustrated books are collected and loved throughout the world. His first children's book, An Alphabet of Animals, won the prestigious Graphics Prize at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair and has been reprinted in numerous editions. His other children's book titles include Mowgli's Brothers, Blue Rabbit and Friends, Blue Rabbit and the Runaway Wheel, Animal Train, Off to the Fair, and George and the Dragon. Wormell lives in London with his wife and three children.

Reviews

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 3–In this handsome companion book to Teeth, Tails, and Tentacles (Running Pr, 2004), Wormell uses linocut prints to illuminate 21 of Aesop's famous life lessons. The artist cleverly conveys the morals up front and, in doing so, also provides viewers with a powerful exercise in visual literacy. Each spread consists of the fable's title and the large-type moral on the left and a full-page illustration on the right. The bold, black lines of the expertly rendered images and colorful accents primarily in earth tones create instantly recognizable figures. The subtle use of light and shadow adds clarity, expression, and often drama without extraneous detail. The brilliance of the images lies in their simplicity. The selections include many of the best-known fables as well as a few that may be less familiar. A succinct retelling of each one appears at the back of the book, along with a smaller, but equally clear version of the print; no sources are cited for the retellings but the overriding spirit seems to be one of economy in thought and word. This mighty-fine offering invites cross-curricular usage but is first and foremost a title to be enjoyed for its sheer artistry.–Luann Toth, School Library Journal
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K-Gr. 3. In a stunning approach to retelling Aesop's fables, Wormell offers linocuts, whose sinuous, powerful black lines and negative spaces are elegantly paired with a beautiful shading of colors--oranges to rosy peach, sky blue to palest gold. Each full-page, framed image lies opposite the aphorism or moral and the title of the fable. For example, the entry "Fine feathers don't make fine birds: 'The Peacock and the Crane'"^B faces a peacock in full display whose tail is intersected by the black-and-white wingspan of a crane in flight. Although this certainly puts the emphasis on the images, it also puts the onus on the storyteller sharing the book with children. Though no sources are cited, a paragraph about each fable is given at the back of the book, to prime the memory. Use this in art classes for older students, as well. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Running Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0762424044
• ISBN 13: 9780762424047
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64