Fables

Some of the genius of this collection is that they don't contradict each other, as so many of Aesop's do. Another part of it is that each could be a whole novel, but Lobel distills them into their essence.

This is true of my favorites. The one about the camel who works to be a dancer, with the moral "Satisfaction will come to those who please themselves" actually should be a book; I'd read it. Meanwhile the point is made here. And my other favorite is the last, about the mouse who goes on a quest to see the ocean: "All the miles of a hard road are worth a moment of true happiness." Ahh, lovely.

A pig flying through marshmallow clouds? A camel pirouetting through the desert? Where else could a reader find such marvelous things but in a fable? From the author-illustrator behind beloved Frog and Toad, Arnold Lobel, comes a collection of humorous, silly fables that will delight readers young and old.

I enjoyed reading this collection of fables because it brought me back into a world of imagination with lots of great lessons being taught in each one. I thought that the illustrations really brought out the idea of the story, giving just enough for the reader to piggy back off and imagine the rest on their own. All of the illustrations had bright colorful animals that contrast the background colors to highlight the event that was going on. For example, in The Lobster and the Crab, the crab and lobster were brighter colors while the stormy seas around them were dark blue and gray, enhancing the characters in the story. I also liked how the dialogue between the animals and each other or the surroundings are very similar to that of human show more interactions. This makes the animals more realistic and relatable to the reader, for example, in Mouse at the Seashore, the mouse says, “I have made my decision. I have never seen the ocean, and it is high time that I did. Nothing can make me change my mind”. The tone, the determination in the way the words are formulated create an emotion that readers can identify with. I also enjoyed reading about the characters because they make the narrative story telling more realistic and believable for a young child to imagine. Animals are neutral which means anyone can identify with the protagonist of the story. This is especially important to note because the purpose of fables are to tell the moral, so making animals the main characters of the story make them more relatable to everyone reading it because it is not bias towards one race, gender, or ethnicity/culture. For example, a very poor dog was wearing lots of baggy clothes that had holes in them; he lived on the street and found a gold ring. This dog represents many things and can be applied in many settings with many types of people. Overall, there are many morals and main ideas of each fable, but generally, the stories teach people different virtues or characteristics to embody that promote a better way of living life in harmony within one’s self and with others around them. show less

Short, original fables with fresh, unexpected morals poke subtle fun at human foibles through the antics of animals.

All the miles of a hard road are worth a moment of true happiness.

I enjoy fables. It's a nice way to illustrate various lessons and morals and pass them along to children somewhat subtly. Especially when you take the wordcraft and illustrations of [a:Arnold Lobel|12447|Arnold Lobel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201019183p2/12447.jpg] ([b:Frog and Toad|18085528|Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury 4 Complete Stories in 1 Volume!|Arnold Lobel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375144266l/18085528._SX50_.jpg|25396166]).

The children enjoyed the stories. Some of them, they understood and laughed at. Some went right over their heads. Some honestly didn't make that much sense even to me. I don't even show more agree with all of the morals, but that gives you a chance to talk about it afterwords, which is worthwhile. Plus, they're fun little stories and each individual one is a quick, self-contained read.

A child's conduct will reflect the ways of his parents.

I hope to be worthy. show less

This Caldecott medalist authored and illustrated by Arnold Lobel is a winner in my book! That he created 20 of his very own short, clever one page fables opposite full page illustrations is rather noble. Each fable exhibits seemingly posh and proper animals expressing their ridiculously obstinate, mischievous yet sometimes fortuitous ways. All of Lobel’s fables end with not quite a moral, but a lesson of sorts. His illustrations differ from the muted colors he used in the Frog and Toad series. Here he uses grafite, ink and watercolor to produce full color, amusing and intricate illustrations to draw us in.

I'm a big fan of short stories with aspects of wonder and magic, so I found this book to be a great read with great variety. For each of the twenty fables, the author's text occupies one page and beautiful illustration on the facing page. The author is also mindful to give a moral to each story. While the moral is genuine and hits home for many readers, the tone of the fables is cheerful and playful rather than moralistic. This aspect of the stories illuminates the minds of young readers especially while also incorporating important life lessons they should take into consideration as well.