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cassiakarin's review against another edition
5.0
A charming book, indeed! I was shocked to discover that my three year old son can wanted to sit through each story without distraction. The pictures and ideas are just captivating enough that he can sit and look at one picture while I read each story for 4-5 minutes. The principles are well above his learning level, and he doesn't really laugh at the humor IN the story, but he loves the silly pictures and the animals in funny clothes. I look forward to enjoying this book for years to come, and trust that the stories will change and evolve in my son's mind as he learns to comprehend their depth.
sducharme's review against another edition
4.0
Sick of old Aesop? These fresh and often funny fables entertain and inform. Lobel's expressive animal faces are a perfect match to keep the tone light.
jbolwerk8's review against another edition
3.0
This collection contains twenty fables written by the author of the Frog and Toad series. Each fable is one page, and at the end, has a one-liner moral of the story. Each page opposite has a solitary image of the animals in the fable.
I enjoy reminiscing on the fables that I read as a child and seeing how I have changed over time while the story stays the same. I found some of these fables to be a little odd in terms of how they played out, and many of them have quite a sad ending. However, there is always a lesson to be learned, and I think children would enjoy trying to guess what might be an important theme to gather from each story. While these are not the classic Aesop fables, they are still good fables to learn from. My favorite is The Bad Kangaroo. :)
I enjoy reminiscing on the fables that I read as a child and seeing how I have changed over time while the story stays the same. I found some of these fables to be a little odd in terms of how they played out, and many of them have quite a sad ending. However, there is always a lesson to be learned, and I think children would enjoy trying to guess what might be an important theme to gather from each story. While these are not the classic Aesop fables, they are still good fables to learn from. My favorite is The Bad Kangaroo. :)
cjbookbunny's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the collection of short, one-page fables. Each fable also had one of the lessons you could learn written at the bottom of the page. The artwork was cute too.
hayleya94's review against another edition
5.0
As the title so clearly states, this book is full of fables! Each story perfectly fits the genre, because they are short stories that are intended to teach a specific lesson or theme. Many characters are talking animals, which is also evidence of the genre.
I would use fables like these during a unit on theme. In this book, the theme is directly told following each story, but I would cover the theme with a post it while reading the book with students. At the beginning of the unit, I would list several themes, read the story, then help the students to choose which theme fits the story. Toward the end of the unit, I would have students develop a theme statement that they believe fits the story, focusing on writing universal themes, not a specific character-focused statement. Then, the students could compare their themes with their peers' as well as with Arnold Lobel's written themes. This would reinforce how there can be more than one theme that fits a story.
As a writing extension, I would have the students reverse design a story. They would choose a theme from a list, then create characters and events that would lead their readers to this theme. I used this same lesson in December using The Gingerbread Man as a mentor text. The students crafted such creative stories!
I would use fables like these during a unit on theme. In this book, the theme is directly told following each story, but I would cover the theme with a post it while reading the book with students. At the beginning of the unit, I would list several themes, read the story, then help the students to choose which theme fits the story. Toward the end of the unit, I would have students develop a theme statement that they believe fits the story, focusing on writing universal themes, not a specific character-focused statement. Then, the students could compare their themes with their peers' as well as with Arnold Lobel's written themes. This would reinforce how there can be more than one theme that fits a story.
As a writing extension, I would have the students reverse design a story. They would choose a theme from a list, then create characters and events that would lead their readers to this theme. I used this same lesson in December using The Gingerbread Man as a mentor text. The students crafted such creative stories!
tracie_nicole's review against another edition
5.0
I love Arnold Lobel's stories and illustrations. A lot of these made me laugh. My favorite was the hen and the apple tree.
librariandest's review against another edition
3.0
Each fable features animal characters, a single illustration, and a snappy little moral. A bit word-heavy for a picture book, but it might be fun to read the story and have the kids guess what the moral is.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Caldecott Winner 1981
This has some truly funny fables. I love the one about the umbrella and the one about the misbehaving kangaroo. It is a fun way to talk with students about fables especially when paired with Squids will be Squids by Scieszka.
This has some truly funny fables. I love the one about the umbrella and the one about the misbehaving kangaroo. It is a fun way to talk with students about fables especially when paired with Squids will be Squids by Scieszka.
libbydmccarthy's review against another edition
2.0
It was ok. Didn't "wow" me. There are probably some good fables that could be useful, but sometimes I would read them and feel like the moral of the story wasn't what I gleamed from the text. hmm