Synopses & Reviews
Twelve fascinating animal tales presented by an unbeatable team. Aesopís fables are as wise and true today as they were more than 2,600 years ago. Now, distinguished author Doris Orgel retells these timeless stories for the next generation. A brave little mouse extracts a thorn from a lionís paw, steady tortoise beats cocky hare in a footrace, a boy cries wolf too many timesÖ. Elegantly and economically told against a backdrop of expressive, detailed illustrations, this gift book presents Aesopís kindly lessons for todayís children in a book sure to become an essential addition to any youngsterís library. Each story is accompanied by an interesting fact about Aesop and his time; these build to an accessible history of the legendary figure.
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Kitchen's pictures are large, graceful, impeccably drawn, and fastidiously colored. (Horn Book)
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...an excellent introduction for older preschoolers and young elementary students....Bert Kitchen's watercolor and gouache illustrations are stately, so real that one can practically feel the bristles of a wolf's fur or the hard shell of the slow-moving tortoise. (BookPage)
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Grandly posed... Kitchen's noble, masterfully realistic animals make this far and away the most sumptuous "Aesop" in years. A story collection that amply repays revisits. (Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review))
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A gorgeous book with superior layout and over-sized format. (Seattle Post-Intellegencer)
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Elegant watercolors and crisp writingÖ (San Francisco Chronicle)
Synopsis
Aesop's fables are as wise and true today as they were more than 2,600 years ago. Now, distinguished author Doris Orgel retells these timeless stories for the next generation. Each story is accompanied by an interesting fact about Aesop and his time; these build to an accessible history of the legendary figure. Full-color illustrations.
About the Author
"I started out in children's books by translating, then retelling stories I'd loved as a child in Austria," says Doris Orgel. (Her first book, a translation of Dwarf Long-Nose by Wilhelm Hauff, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, won the Lewis Carroll Shelf award.) "Translating and retelling were like taking intensive writing courses, learning from master storytellers how it's done," Orgel goes on. "I soon started writing my own stories, and have published lots-fifty or so-picture books, middle-grade and YA novels. But I've stayed true to my roots, gone on doing translations and retellings," including: The heart of Stone, and A Monkey's Uncle by Wilhelm Hauff; tales by the German romantic poet Clemens Brentano; E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Child from Far Away; The Enchanted Drum by Walter Grieder; The Grandma in the Apple Tree by Mira Lobe; Little John by Theodor Storm; Baron Munchhausen; The Story of Lohengrin; Godfather Cat and Mouse from the Brothers Grim; and most recently, Elke Heidenreich's Nero Corleone: A Cat's Story, an honor book in the 1998 Mildred Batchelder award. Many of Orgel's original books have retellings at their core. The Devil inVienna, her prize-winning novel about her family's escape from Austria under Hitler, starts with its two young heroines scaring each other, just in fun, by recounting tales of lurid things the devil did in olden days, thus setting the stage for Nazi devilry, not in fun, that would happen soon. Orgel's three latest books, Ariadne, Awake, The Princess and the God and We Goddesses reflect her passionate interest in ancient Greece, and are based on Greek material, re-imagined and retold. Orgel is currently working on a second volume about goddesses featuring the mothers and daughters Leto and Artemis, Demeter and Persephone. Bert Kitchen has published many books for children, including And So They Build and the Animal Lives series. He has won numerous awards, including first prize in the International Graphics Award at Bologna in 1988. Mr. Kitchen lives in London with his family.