Fables

Rating:
Summary: Fables: Good stories with Good morals!!
Review: I really enjoyed this caldecott award winning book. I think that this is a great book for childern. Not olny does it have great illistrations, but it also gives wonderful lessons to children. By using a wide range of animals to play the parts in the stories, the author makes learning these lessons fun for kids.
I would reccommend this book for kids to read. In fact, when I become a teacher, I would use this book in my teaching plan.

Rating:
Summary: Good- but not for preschool
Review: Amazon.com has this graded as for Baby-Preschool. No way. These are fables with morals, and the vocabulary is at least second grade. I teach Third Grade and this book accompanies my reading series.
There are some stories I like better than others for both content and message. (some I don't use) I'd recommend it for Second to Fifth graders.

Rating:
Summary: Good- but not for preschool
Review: Amazon.com has this graded as for Baby-Preschool. No way. These are fables with morals, and the vocabulary is at least second grade. I teach Third Grade and this book accompanies my reading series.
There are some stories I like better than others for both content and message. (some I don't use) I'd recommend it for Second to Fifth graders.

Rating:
Summary: Fables
Review: Fables is a collection of fables that the author made up himself. They aren't the traditional fables of the world, but they still all contain a moral lesson. Each story is about animal characters, which makes the stories very enchanting.
Each story is very short and is contained within the borders of one page each. This is a good quality for a short story book because a story can be told in a very short amount of time. The whole book does not have to be read in order for the reader to benefit from it. The meaning of every story is stated at the bottom of every page. This is an advantage to the reader because they do not have to read the entire story to figure out if they want to read that particular fable.
Each fable is accompanied by its own colorful illustration. The illustrations are large and cover the entire page opposite the fable that it belongs to. Some of the illustrations are rather humorous and get the reader's attention before they even begin reading the story.
This would be a good book to have in a younger aged classroom. The stories are short so the reader is not bogged down by a long drawn out story. They are also humorous and are sure to get a laugh out of any youngster.

Rating:
Summary: Fables
Review: Fables is a collection of fables that the author made up himself. They aren't the traditional fables of the world, but they still all contain a moral lesson. Each story is about animal characters, which makes the stories very enchanting.
Each story is very short and is contained within the borders of one page each. This is a good quality for a short story book because a story can be told in a very short amount of time. The whole book does not have to be read in order for the reader to benefit from it. The meaning of every story is stated at the bottom of every page. This is an advantage to the reader because they do not have to read the entire story to figure out if they want to read that particular fable.
Each fable is accompanied by its own colorful illustration. The illustrations are large and cover the entire page opposite the fable that it belongs to. Some of the illustrations are rather humorous and get the reader's attention before they even begin reading the story.
This would be a good book to have in a younger aged classroom. The stories are short so the reader is not bogged down by a long drawn out story. They are also humorous and are sure to get a laugh out of any youngster.

Rating:
Summary: Fables and animalia
Review: I'm on an Arnold Lobel kick these days. Having breezed through the sweet, "A Treeful of Pigs", stopped to admire his treasury of nursery rhymes (two thumbs way way up on that one), and genuflected in the face of the eternally classic tales of Frog and Toad I'm actually getting around to reading his 1981 Caldecott winning picture book, "Fables". Lobel deserves every inch of praise he received for this admirable work. Imagine how difficult it must have been to create not one, not two, but twenty absolutely new fables filled to the brim with wit and wisdom! Not an easy task. Still, Lobel not only faced up to the challenge but also accomplished it in a manner best befitting the gentleman he truly was. These are fabulous fables.

Each tale contained in this book is acted out by a variety of different animals. No two stories contain the same kind of animals (with the possible exception of one fable centering on a hen and another on a rooster). The stories are short and easy for youngsters to understand. They are usually followed up with little moral lessons along the lines of "At times, a change of routine can be most healthful" or "When the need is strong, there are those who will believe anything". Admittedly, these are half a step away from becoming fortune cookie messages. Still, there's no denying that each and every one is true. Sometimes they become particularly poignant. I am thinking of the story about a young mischievous kangaroo that would throw spitballs in school and put tacks on chairs. When his teacher went to his home to inform his parents of their son's terrible behavior, he found them throwing spitballs at one another and doing just the kinds of things the little one had done in school. Moral: "A child's conduct will reflect the ways of his parents". Truer than most would think.

Accompanying these droll adventures are Lobel's very particular illustrations. As an artist, Lobel has given an entirely new level of sophistication to his creations. Though undeniably Lobellian (is that a word?) they're far more detailed than anything much his work before or since. In the story where a pig dreams of candies all night, the image on the opposite page displays a subtley shaded porcine character flying next to a gorgeous moon, a mélange of greens and yellows. Other delightful pictures include the one accompanying the story of two elephants. The pompous father elephant reads his paper, oblivious to the fact that his left slipper has caught fire from his pipe. Standing in front of him, eyes at half-mast (a look of singular disinterest on his face) a younger elephant gazes at the blaze serenely. Children familiar with Lobel's "Frog and Toad" books might be ever so slightly disturbed by the story in which three frogs run to find the treasures at the end of the rainbow. Not only do the jacketed amphibian get eaten by a snake, but they all look a heckuva lot like Frog from the aforementioned popular series. Things to consider.

The tales told here are as well written and presented as an ancient Aesopian collection. I would greatly encourage you to pair this book with, "Anno's Aesop: A Book of Fables by Aesop and Mr. Fox". The books compliment one another and lead to similar sillinesses. If you've ever thought that you loved Lobel, think again. Until you've read this picture book you'll find you were completely in the dark regarding his real talents. A stunning accomplishment.

Rating:
Summary: Fables and animalia
Review: I'm on an Arnold Lobel kick these days. Having breezed through the sweet, "A Treeful of Pigs", stopped to admire his treasury of nursery rhymes (two thumbs way way up on that one), and genuflected in the face of the eternally classic tales of Frog and Toad I'm actually getting around to reading his 1981 Caldecott winning picture book, "Fables". Lobel deserves every inch of praise he received for this admirable work. Imagine how difficult it must have been to create not one, not two, but twenty absolutely new fables filled to the brim with wit and wisdom! Not an easy task. Still, Lobel not only faced up to the challenge but also accomplished it in a manner best befitting the gentleman he truly was. These are fabulous fables.

Each tale contained in this book is acted out by a variety of different animals. No two stories contain the same kind of animals (with the possible exception of one fable centering on a hen and another on a rooster). The stories are short and easy for youngsters to understand. They are usually followed up with little moral lessons along the lines of "At times, a change of routine can be most healthful" or "When the need is strong, there are those who will believe anything". Admittedly, these are half a step away from becoming fortune cookie messages. Still, there's no denying that each and every one is true. Sometimes they become particularly poignant. I am thinking of the story about a young mischievous kangaroo that would throw spitballs in school and put tacks on chairs. When his teacher went to his home to inform his parents of their son's terrible behavior, he found them throwing spitballs at one another and doing just the kinds of things the little one had done in school. Moral: "A child's conduct will reflect the ways of his parents". Truer than most would think.

Accompanying these droll adventures are Lobel's very particular illustrations. As an artist, Lobel has given an entirely new level of sophistication to his creations. Though undeniably Lobellian (is that a word?) they're far more detailed than anything much his work before or since. In the story where a pig dreams of candies all night, the image on the opposite page displays a subtley shaded porcine character flying next to a gorgeous moon, a mélange of greens and yellows. Other delightful pictures include the one accompanying the story of two elephants. The pompous father elephant reads his paper, oblivious to the fact that his left slipper has caught fire from his pipe. Standing in front of him, eyes at half-mast (a look of singular disinterest on his face) a younger elephant gazes at the blaze serenely. Children familiar with Lobel's "Frog and Toad" books might be ever so slightly disturbed by the story in which three frogs run to find the treasures at the end of the rainbow. Not only do the jacketed amphibian get eaten by a snake, but they all look a heckuva lot like Frog from the aforementioned popular series. Things to consider.

The tales told here are as well written and presented as an ancient Aesopian collection. I would greatly encourage you to pair this book with, "Anno's Aesop: A Book of Fables by Aesop and Mr. Fox". The books compliment one another and lead to similar sillinesses. If you've ever thought that you loved Lobel, think again. Until you've read this picture book you'll find you were completely in the dark regarding his real talents. A stunning accomplishment.

Rating:
Summary: Tongue in Cheek Animal Fables with Beautiful Illustrations
Review: This book won the Caldecott Medal for the best illustrated children's book of 1981. The book contains twenty one-page fables, facing a one page illustration of the key moment in each fable. The illustrations bring the morals of these tales to life in ways that will keep your children laughing. That will make the lessons more memorable, as well as more entertaining.

The fables are uneven in the relevance and importance of their messages. I graded the book down one star for the several fables that are more irreverent than relevant. You can obtain more benefit for your child if you selectively read the fables to emphasize the more important ones.

For an example of a weaker one consider The Pelican and the Crane. This is a story about a crane who invites a pelican to tea. The pelican is horribly uncouth and messy. The pelican complains that "no one ever calls me." The moral is stated as "when one is a social failure, the reasons are as clear as day." The narrower moral is about being inconsiderate, but that is never quite spelled out. So even the weaker fables can be tightened up with a little parental explanation.

I thought that the following stories were comparable in quality to Aesop's Fables:

The Crocodile in the Bedroom ("Without a doubt, there is such a thing as too much order."; The Ducks and the Fox ("At times, a change of routine can be most healthful."); King Lion and the Beetle ("It is the high and mighty who have the longest distance to fall."); The Lobster and the Crab ("Even the taking of small risks will add excitement to life."); The Hen and the Apple Tree ("It is always difficult to pose as something one is not."); The Baboon's Umbrella ("Advice from friends is like the weather. Some of it is good; some of it is bad."); The Frogs at the Rainbow's End ("The biggest hopes may lead to the greatest disappointments."); The Camel Dancer ("Satisfaction will come to those who please themselves."); Madame Rhinoceros and Her Dress ("Nothing is harder to resist than a bit of flattery."); The Pig at the Candy Store ("A locked door is very likely to discourage temptation."); and The Mouse at the Seashore ("All the miles of hard road are worth a moment of true happiness.").

In most cases, other lessons can be drawn from the same fables. I suggest that you and your child discuss what else you noticed in the stories. You can then add experiences that each of you have had during the day, and discuss the meaning of each.

Remember that only those who wish to experience the most misery and injury themselves prefer to learn only from their own mistakes.

Remember to look on the funny side of life's hard lessons!

Rating:
Summary: Original fables that children will love.
Review: This children's book consists of twenty original fables containing animal characters (just as in Aesop's fables) with a moral at the end of each: for example, "Knowledge will not always take the place of simple observation." The book won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for best illustration in a book for children.