The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables

This is a complete collection of the the timeless fables of Aesop, translated into easily-readable colloquial English. The date of the original fables, which were in Ancient Greek, is uncertain. It is said that Aesop lived from 620-564 BC, that he was a slave on the Greek Island of Samos, and was born either in somewhere in Asia Minor or Thrace. He is also often characterized as having been an ugly hunchback. However, nobody really knows for sure, nor does any of that really matter. What is certain is that the fables attributed to Aesop are as entertaining, and the lessons taught by them as universally true, as they were were thousands of years ago. The charm and wonder of Aesop's fables is that they are completely and equally comprehensible by people of any culture, and from any era; either now, in the distant past, or ten thousand years from now. They have never been outdated, and undoubtedly never will be. Few works of literature, from any age or culture, are so universal as the Fables of Aesop. They should be required reading for anyone, in any country on earth, who wishes to consider themselves educated.

The Fables are ancient and wonderful to read aloud to a child of at least pre-school age. A 7 year old can read it with help, and an adult is helpful to interpret the wisdom in each ‘fable.’ The illustrations are detailed and rich and appeal to adults as well as to children-rare in a book for children.

I thought that this book of fables was very good. The stories were and to the point. Now onto the next book.

Great write up of the fables. I read it to my 5 and 7 year old, they love the one with the bear and the travelers. Mr. Pinkney puts the "moral" at the end of the story which sums up the learning point very well. Real short and too the point. Though some of the "morals" at the end of each tale are a little difficult to describe to little ones, it takes little effort to make them work. Great read with plenty of short stories and big elaborate pictures the kids love. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is some morals are written a bit beyond the 1st or 2nd grade level, when the rest of the work in the book is all at the level. Its not an exhaustive either, there are more Aesop fables that aren't included, but it works for what I'm using it to do. Great for bedtime stories.

With this latest pop-up book the authors Chris Beatrice and Bruce Whatley have out done themselves in illustrating the classic Aesop Fables! Each story is breathtakingly illustrated with lush colour pictures and paper engineering by Kees Moerbeek! With the GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG the surprises that the farmer and the wife find are well illustrated and presented with each turn of the pop-up page! And when the farmer has a look of concern over what his wife will do next as she decides to kill the goose to get all the eggs at once a flip of the page reveals the goose has been killed and the animals look sad at the loss! These smaller pop-ups reveal the full story while the large center piece shows the goose in full glory before her demise! In THE FOX AND THE CROW a spectacular tree stands in full view with the fox at bottom and the crow at the very top! When the fox compliments the crow and says I bet your voice is preetier then the other birds, the crow agrees and lets out a caw, caw sound and the fox gobbles up the cheese that the crow had in it's beak! The fox said, "You do have a beautiful voice but you don't seem to have a brain!" In the familar story The TORTOISE AND THE HARE the pop-ups present the wily hare who is outdone by the tortoise in the last pop-up page! The next 5 storys are presented with one pop-up for each story on a 2 page spread! THE HORSE AND THE STAG, THE DOG AND HIS BONE, TWO TRAVELERS AND A BEAR, THE WIND AND THE SUN, and THE FOX AND THE GRAPES each have an approprite pop-up to illustrate their tale. At times the pop-ups are tricky to fold back in but they fold in well for the most part! The next to last story is THE LION AND THE MOUSE with the tale starting out with the lion catching a mouse who has woken him up! When the mouse suggests he might help the lion some day the lion lets him go! The center pop-up shows the lion captured in a net and the last pop-up shows the lion freed by the mouse for a happy ending! Finnaly there is THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER with this pop-up tale well presented and Aesop is presented as a boy surrounded by his animal friends! Highly recommended!

For the price this is a great book! The book as well as the pictures inside of it are big(sometimes having a whole page devoted to an illustration). The illustrations are great because they are from all the time periods the book had been republished. As for content it is totally appropraite and interesting for adults. Some of the words and ideas might be hard for a young child to grasp but that just opens the door to share the book and ideas together. I find that my 6 year old "gets" some and others we have to talk about. It is a great way to help kids connect to the past while learning things that are relevant today. I love this book! One quick note, so far the book does use the other word for a donkey :) :)

The hardcover itself looks cheap and is printed and not embossed or engraved. The pages themselves seem good quality. Printing is good. I’m just not happy with the appearance of the actual hardcover once the dust jacket is removed. I won’t be buying any more books from this series/publisher.

The CD is an excellent addition to this book! While the book contains over 100 stories the CD covers 42 of the best of them and references the title of each story and the page it can be found in the book. For parents who would like to convert the disc to MP3 files and add the story/track information here is a list of are all the stories on the CD. If you use J. River Media Center the track information has also been uploaded to their servers so it should automatically add it when you rip/convert the CD to MP3 files. Aesop's Fables for Children CD Tracklist Track 1: Introduction Track 2: The Wolf And The Kid Track 3: The Frog And The Ox Track 4: The Dog, The Cock And The Fox Track 5: Belling The Cat Track 6: Hercules And The Wagoner Track 7: The Town Mouse And The Country Mouse Track 8: The Fox And The Grapes Track 9: The Bundle Of Sticks Track 10: The Lion And The Mouse Track 11: The Shepherd Boy And The Wolf Track 12: The Farmer And The Stork Track 13: The Travelers And The Purse Track 14: The Owl And The Grasshopper Track 15: The Oak And The Reeds Track 16: The Rat And The Elephant Track 17: The Crow And The Pitcher Track 18: The Ants And The Grasshopper Track 19: The Ass And The Load Of Salt Track 20: The Ass, The Fox, And The Lion Track 21: The Fox And The Stork Track 22: The Wolf And The Lean Dog Track 23: The Lion And The Ass Track 24: The Monkey And The Dolphin Track 25: The Rabbit, The Weasel, And The Cat Track 26: The Heron Track 27: The Cock And The Fox Track 28: The Fox And The Goat Track 29: The Cat, The Cock, And The Young Mouse Track 30: The Goose And The Golden Egg Track 31: The Mouse And The Weasel Track 32: The Goatherd And The Wild Goats Track 33: Mercury And The Woodman Track 34: The Serpent And The Eagle Track 35: The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Track 36: The Dog And His Reflection Track 37: The Hare And The Tortoise Track 38: The Fox And The Crow] Track 39: The Ant And The Dove Track 40: The Wolf, The Kid, And The Goat Track 41: The Lion's Share Track 42: The North Wind And The Sun J. River Media Center: [...]

These are beautiful books and look fab lined up together on a bookcase. The colours are very pretty. Entertainment, mind enriching and pretty decor all in one.

Excellent short stories. Perfect for those who are English learner's seeking to expand their vocabulary, imagination, and level of comprehension. The book is entertaining and even amusing.

El libro llego rapidamente y en perfectas condiciones. Las ilustraciones y los efectos son estupendos, muy contenta con la compra.

Maravilhoso livro! A qualidade das ilustrações, da capa e acabamento são impecáveis!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Aesop’s Fables. It’s incredible how many of today’s stories — whether in books, movies, or even children's cartoons — echo the same themes and moral lessons that appear in these tales. Stories like “The Tortoise and the Hare” or “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” continue to shape our cultural storytelling and values. The Chartwell Classics hardcover includes b&w illustrations which are charming, the cover is beautifully designed, and the paper quality gives it a satisfying, tactile feel which adds to the enjoyment of reading. If you like hardcover versions of books or if you are looking for something to add to your Chartwell Classics collection then I would add this (let's face it, I clearly did) - yes it looks great on a shelf but is also a great read too.