The Tortoise and the Hare

by Janet Stevens

Recounts the race between the boastful hare and the persevering tortoise

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Classics, Animals, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Fables

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Janet Stevens began drawing as a child. Pictures decorated her walls, mirrors, furniture and school work -- including math assignments. While this didn't always sit well with her teachers, it was what she loved to do.

Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.

After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.

Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,

Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.

She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.

Reviews

[Ben Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read to my nephew Harvey. Banger. Lots of lessons for later in life

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is a wonderful Aesop fable classic from Janet Stevens and it is about how Tortoise tries to work out everyday in order to beat Hare in a big race. “The Tortoise and the Hare” is the perfect book about the importance of hard work and perseverance that children will cherish for many years.

Janet Stevens has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book about a famous Aesop fable. Janet Stevens’ illustrations are beautiful and colorful, especially of the images of Hare looking scraggly, while Tortoise looked wrinkly yet wise. Janet Stevens’ writing sets up the moral of the story, which is “hard work and perseverance brings its own rewards” in such a brilliant manner, that many children will be awed at how Janet Stevens shows that hard work does pay off.

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is a great book for children who want to learn how to work hard to earn their goals in life and is easily one of the greatest Aesop fables ever told. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

The third retelling of the classic fable of The Tortoise and the Hare that I have read for my Aesop project, Janet Stevens' picture book ranks somewhere below Caroline Castle's The Hare and the Tortoise , and above Caroline Repchuk's The Race in my esteem, making it a solid two and a half-star book.

Stevens gives her adaptation a distinctly contemporary feel, with the "friendly and quiet" Tortoise and the "flashy and rude" Hare. But her narrative never really engaged my interest, and her illustrations, while colorful and very cute, simply didn't compensate. It's not that there is anything wrong with this book, it just left me feeling indifferent.

[Michelle Doerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tortoise and the Hare is a wonderful folklore book that has been passed down for generations. I think this book is intended for Primary readers and I gave it 5 stars because of the great lesson taught and the action-packed pictures. The story is about a fast-paced hare and a slow-paced turtle. The hare is constantly picking on the tortoise for being slow at everything. When challenged to a race, the tortoise hesitates, but participates to prove that "hard work and perseverance bring reward." I love how the pictures always portray the rabbit as being in motion and fast with his hair blowing and shaggy. The Tortoise and the Hare can be used to instruct in multiple ways. As it was used for me in school, it is a great example of an Aesop Fable. Also, this story teaches great lessons as mentioned above.

[Sylvana DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version of the fable The Tortoise and the Hare is adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens. Stevens has authored and illustrated many children’s books, her books include New York Times Best Sellers, Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, ALA Notable books, and a Caldecott Honor.

The Hare is fast, flashy, and rude, the tortoise is slow, friendly, and quiet. The Hare continuously points out that he is faster than the tortoise, he even says that he could beat him in a race hopping backward. Although Tortoise didn’t think he could ever win a race against Tortoise, his friends believed in him. In order to not disappoint his friends, Tortoise agrees to a race with Hare. Tortoise's friends even helped him train for the big race. On the big day of the race, Hare bolted out of sight, leaving Tortoise in the dust. This is the image seen both on the cover of the book and the title page. Hare even stopped at a friend's house for a drink, a snack, and even took a nap. Does Hare still win the race?

The illustrations in the book add to the overall story, providing a visual for what is occurring in the text. The images are colorful and cover most pages. The empty space is utilized well, with very little being left bare.

The Tortoise and the Hare is a well-known fable that continues to be a great story for children. The lesson here can be interpreted differently, it teaches children that it is better to take things slow and steady, do things the right way, be persistent, rather than being overconfident, arrogant, and rushing through. Overall, it is a story of humility. Best for children ages 5 - 8, but can also be read to the younger age groups.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember watching this book read on Reading Rainbow when I was a kid and just loved it. It's still a decent rendition of the tortoise and the hare. But, my daughter has already heard so many variations that I don't think she wants to hear another. I may read it to her at some point, but, I would rather have her watch the Reading Rainbow episode that included it.

It's cute and has aged fine, it's just one of those tales that kids hear a lot.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic story, beautifully illustrated and well read by LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tortoise and the Hare is a classic fable that tells the story of two animal friends that decide to race. The hare believes he will win no problem because he is so fast and the turtle is so slow! But, the turtle also thinks that he is going to win and that the hare is going to lose. The race begins and the hare was off to a big lead and decides he has time to stop and rest, but he overslept and the turtle passed him! Will the turtle pass him or will the hare catch back up? To find out who wins you will have to read the story for yourself!

This book should be used in grades 3rd or 4th. I would first use this book to talk about the significance or the fable. We would talk about how the turtle won the face because he was slow and steady and took his time rather than rushing through everything like the hare. This is important in school because you do not want to rush through all your stuff just to get it done but to take your time and make sure you do it right. Another thing we would talk about is perseverance. We would talk about this because in the book even though the turtle was far behind he never gave up and kept trying his best and eventually he ended up winning because he never gave up. While the hare was over confident and did not persevere through the race, instead he stopped to rest because he thought he would win no matter what. This teaches students that perseverance is so important and that they should never give up because they will get to where they need to go and will "win the race." This book teaches students a lot of life lessons and makes realize they are accountable for their outcomes in life.

This was a WOW book for me because it is a simple fable but has so many good lessons within the book. It really is a great way to teach students about things like perseverance and by taking your time to do things instead of rushing through life. This book is amazing because it has so many good lessons but is such a simple idea/concept. This was also a WOW book because when I was reading other fables they seemed a little gruesome and I like that this one has a good message and is appropriate for children to read. This is definitely a WOW book and can easily be used in the classroom!

[Adriana Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hare was fast and very harsh when it came to judging others that were slower than him. He was talking to the tortoise and said a bunch of mean things to him about how slow he was. The Tortoise then challenged the Hare and said he could beat him in a race. The Hare laughed in disbelief and was gloating way too much that he couldn’t not take this opportunity to beat the Tortoise. N racing the Hare noticed that the Tortoise was far behind him. The Hare started fooling around in ways such as stopping to talk to his friends, meanwhile the Tortoise stayed with his pace going nice and steady towards the finish line. The Hare got back up into the race and was still a ways away in front of the Tortoise, and he felt that nothing he did could stop him from winning. He found a patch of field and decided to pretend like he was sleeping, so that it would look like the Tortoise had no chance, but instead the Hare fell asleep and as he did so the Tortoise grew closer and closer to the finish line. About 30 minutes had passed and the Hare finally woke up again. He realized he had fallen asleep and jumped up to get back into the race and win. When he got to the finish line, it was far too late, as the Tortoise was walking across the finish line claiming his victory. The author uses symbolism and allegory as literary devices in this story. The most popular theme for this book is that “Slow and steady wins the race.”. This is a book for children to teach them not to be cocky as the hare's overconfidence led to his downfall. I think this is a WOW book for me because of the various messages the author tries to portray to children in the symbolism of the hair and the tortoise. The hare symbolizes how people who rush through life can miss the true beauty of it, whereas the Tortoise represents patience and hard work will get you where you want to be.The two stories demonstrate the importance of cultural influences and differences in folkloric tales.

[Leah D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Fable
Awards: None
Audience: Grades K-3
A. The main characters in this book are described very flat. The tortoise is described to be very nice while the hare is described as a mean and rude person. Not only that, but it is directly said instead of implying it in the story. Therefore, the hare is described as only a "bad guy" and the tortoise only described as a "good guy."
B. There are lot of different versions of the tortoise and the hare stories that have been published. I am only familiar with this one and another one. The other one that I know is a book without words version by Jerry Pinkney. It tells the same story except the author decided to do it without words. This would be ideal for a younger age group that may not be reading yet. It would allow them to "read" by themselves by just looking at the pictures in the book.
C. I would use this book to tell the story to a group of children. It can be used to teach children about theme and morals of a story. Not only that, but the theme is more of an explicit theme than an implicit. By having that kind of a theme it allows children to begin learning about themes in a way that is easy for them to recognize the theme.
D. Explain how the tortoise ending up winning the race.
Answer: The tortoise ran the race because he took his time and didn't rush himself. The hare was always rushing to get in front of the tortoise and then would take a break. His breaks were what caused him to lose the race. He wasn't paying attention to where the tortoise was, so he missed the tortoise when he fell asleep.

[Monica Haak · Rating 2 out of 5]

In het Frans gelezen om m'n Frans op te krikken. Ik vind de boodschap mooi, maar dat is het ook wel. De dingen die de haas allemaal doet in de tijd dat de schildpad naar de finish gaat vind ik juist een benadrukking van de traagheid van de schildpad. Ongeacht dat hij wint of niet.

[Nhung Quach · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "The Tortoise and the Hare: An Aesop Fable" by Janet Stevens is about the Hare who always teases the Tortoise for being so slow. When the Tortoise is doing something like eating his breakfast, working in his garden and going to the store, the Hare always says sarcastically to him like "by the time you pick those spring flowers, it will be winter./By the time you finish your last bite, it will be dinnertime"etc. Then, Hare wants to challenge and asks Tortoise to race with him. Tortoise knows that he can't beat Hare, so he is afraid and pulls his head into his shell. His friends cheer him and encourage him that he can do it. After that, he agrees to race against Hare. With the help of his friend, Tortoise trained his body by running, eating well and exercising. Finally, the race is coming and Hare is so confident that he will win. During the race, the Hare decided to stop at the Bear and Mouse's house for a drink of water and a snack. He passes Tortoise for a third time and he thought he is far away so he decides to stop and go to sleep at the pond because the snacks made him sleepy. He is sure that he will win. Suddenly, he is awake because the crowd is cheering the Tortoise, and he is too late to catch up with Tortoise because Tortoise had already reached the finish line.

The major themes of this book are humility and self-awareness. I think humility is the theme of this book because in the story, I can see the Hare is overconfidence that he knows he is fast and will beat the Tortoise, so it causes him to underestimate the Tortoise and lost the race. However, the Tortoise is slow. He maintains his speed and doesn't give up. Tortoise tries his best, so he wins. Also, I think self-awareness is theme because the Tortoise understands his ability. He ignores the Hare's boasting and just focuses on his goal. He keeps trying and doesn't stop anywhere to rest. His self-awareness, Tortoise, enabled him to complete the race successfully and win over the Hare. The main genre of this book is traditional literature. The book tries to convey the message to readers not to boast about our abilities and underestimate others. It shows that hard work and perseverance will lead to success, instead of arrogance and haste. Even though the Tortoise is slow, but he reaches the finish line first. Children reading this book can learn the value of perseverance, taking things slowly and making steady progress to achieve big goals. The illustration of this book is colorful, and playful style. The illustrations help readers connect with the book, enjoy the story, and learn lessons after reading. This book is a WOW book for me because the story content captivated me, and I learned a lesson from the story that don't underestimate somebody else. Furthermore, the illustrations brought the story to life and captured the energy of the race. I enjoy the race between the Tortoise and the Hare. It is fun race. Two of the literary devices of this book I find are personification and metaphor. For personification, the Tortoise and the Hare can talk, think, and act like human behavior. For example, Tortoise said "But I could never beat you, Hare" and Hare said "Yes, you could./All you need is a little help." Also, Hare eats snacks, drinks lemonade, and sleeps. The author uses metaphor for the tortoise. The character tortoise represents patience. He is slow, but he tries his best to finish the race and maintain his speed when he faces with the Hare that he knows the Hare is fast. These literary devices added to the quality of the writing in this book by giving readers connect their emotion with the characters of this book, making the author’s writing more interesting to readers. I would consider this book is anti-bias because the book's story does not offer any negativity and encourages the reader to appreciate persistent efforts. It provides a meaningful lesson about the value of hard work over bragging. It emphasizes the importance of perseverance, even when faced with an opponent who seems more talented.

[Kassie Funkhouser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would’ve never known that a story I heard as a kid could still hit so hard now that I’m in college. The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens is a really fun and surprisingly relatable retelling of Aesop fable. In this version, the characters really come to life, Hare is this loud, overconfident guy who’s convinced he’s unbeatable, and Tortoise is calm, quiet, and honestly kind of inspiring in how he just does his thing without all the noise. Even though the story is simple, I found myself really rooting for Tortoise the whole time. The major themes in the book were determination and humility. Tortoise keeps going, step by step, while Hare wastes time showing off to everyone and in the end, it’s that steady effort that wins. It’s a great reminder not to underestimate people based on how they appear or how “slow” they might seem. I think the main genre of this book is a fable, since it uses animals to teach a life lesson. Reading this again at my age, I noticed a couple of ideas I didn’t appreciate as a kid, like how important it is to stay focused on your own path, and how overconfidence can backfire in a big way. I think younger readers could take away some powerful lessons about patience, consistency, and not letting people’s opinions define you. This book was a WOW book for me because it took something I thought I knew and made it feel very empowering.

Two of the literary devices Janet Stevens used really well in this book were personification and visual storytelling. Giving animals human traits, especially in the way they talk and act makes the message of the story way more interesting. Hare is basically that one guy who always brags but never shows up when it counts, and Tortoise is like the quiet person in class who ends up getting the highest grade. That kind of personification made the characters feel real and super familiar. Another thing that stood out to me was how the author uses the illustrations to tell just as much of the story as the words do. Hare is always striking a pose, while Tortoise is just quietly moving along, and you can literally see the contrast without needing it explained. These techniques made the story flow much better and even gave it more personality. I’d also say this book has an anti-bias message, because it challenges how we usually define “winners.” It pushes back on the idea that louder, faster, or more confident equals better, and instead shows that steady effort and self-belief matters just as much, if not more. That’s something a lot of people (especially myself) need to hear sometimes.

[Madhi Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tortoise and the hare from Aesop's tale represent a deceptively simple yet extremely powerful lesson regarding patience, perseverance, and humility. In this classic fable, the faster hare boasts to the slower tortoise that he shall win the race. Nevertheless, in that arrogance or overconfidence, the tortoise, who is slow but steady, wins the race. Slow and steady wins the race. This disagnoses the outline of persistence and strength that do not underestimate others.

That's what is beautiful about that fable-it's simplicity. The characters of the tortoise and hare represent two opposing temperaments to the kids, which makes it very easy for them to understand and relate to the moral. It was a simple read and quite short, so it qualifies as a good reading lesson for small readers. The fable gives thought to the overconfidence-humility debate. It would remind kids that success is not always winning or being fastest or the best, but the willingness to work hard and stay committed.

This book is a WOW for it's carrying such a big message in so few words. Giving an account of never giving up with one interesting story is another way of displaying hope of giving them confidence and engage our children.The fact he is around in the book form for so many years enhances its credibility and makes it ideal for inculcating virtues of humility, persistence, and patience in children. After all, one can keep that wonderfully simple and strong lesson close to the heart for many years, and that is why it deserves a position in every traditional literature collection.

[Lynda Breithaupt-Muenzer]

Stevens, Janet. The Tortoise and the Hare. (1984). Target audience: 4-8. An adapted Aesop fable; one of my favorites because of the moral of the story. This is a never too old story about perseverance and working hard for what you want. Children will enjoy the vibrant colors in the illustrations as well as the humanization of the animal characters. The friendly tortoise is teased relentlessly by the flashy, rude, hare, about how slowly he does everything. It annoys the hare so much that one day he challenges the tortoise to a race. The tortoise doesn't think he can beat the hare, but his friends think he can with a bit of help. He doesn't want to disappoint his friends so he accepts the challenge. His friends help him train for about two and one half weeks before the race. Right from the start, the hare blazes past the tortoise, but becomes thirsty, so he decides to stop for a drink since he is so far ahead of the tortoise. The hare sees the tortoise pass him as he is sitting at the bear's house having a drink. The story continues with the hare catching up, passing the tortoise, taking a break, then repeating the process until...the hare is too late to catch up after taking a nap. They each learned a lesson that day.
Children not only take away that if you keep a steady pace you could still win a race, but they also learn that being boastful can backfire on you.

[Glenise Claiborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genre for "The Tortoise and the Hare" by Janet Stevens is Folklore and the intended age group is 4-8. Awards won are the Caldecott Honor (1994) and Children's Choice Award (1995).
Summary: "The Tortoise and the Hare" is a vibrant retelling of the classic Aesop's fable. The story follows the boastful Hare who is confident in his speed, and the determined Tortoise who is eager to prove his perseverance. With engaging illustrations, Stevens captures the essence of the race between the two characters, showcasing the Hare's arrogance and the Tortoise's steady determination.

Evaluation: The retelling of this captivating classic fable breathes life into the characters while showcasing the boastful Hare and the determined Tortoise in a colorful and engaging manner. Stevens' adaption preserves the essence of the original tale and adds her own playful and imaginative touches as she creates a visually stunning rendition that reinforces the importance of determination and patience in an enjoyable and accessible way for children. This is a great story for teachers and parents to use as a foundation for discussing values such as patience and consistency in achieving goals. Through colorful and expressive artwork, the book emphasizes the moral lesson of consistency and determination for young children.
11/05/23

[McKenna Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fable
Awards: none
Audience: 6-9 years old
A. Hare is described as very flashy and rude due to the fact that he could do everything very quickly. Tortoise is described as friendly and quiet, and also very slow at mostly everything he does.
B. The Fox and the Snail is a version from Switzerland in which Fox challenges Snail to a race. The Snail is witty, and hides in Fox's tail while he is sleeping. At the finishing gate, Snail creeps out of Fox's tail and finishes the race, while Fox cockily asks where Snail is. The Fox is similar to the Hare in that he is doubtful of the Snail's abilities which leads to his downfall, and the Snail is witty and takes advantage of Fox's cockiness.
C. Yes, I would use this for storytelling. It's an intriguing way to tell the rather simple lesson that hard work pays off, and not to underestimate others or look down upon them just because they are different than you. It's illustrations and fast-paced plot would definitely help maintain the children's interest.
D. Explain why Tortoise's friends encouraged him to do the race. They didn't want to be looked down upon and pushed around by Hare any longer. They also wanted to show that they can be successful even though they are looked down upon.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly classic tale...The Tortoise and the Hare is a book that I have read again and again. When the extremely fast Hare challenges the Tortoise to a race, everyone knows who will win. As the two set off on their adventure, they both take different approaches to how to win, but only one can be the champion. This folklore book is a wow book for me because the moral of this story is one that is relatable in so many different cases and is important to remember every day.

This book is a great choice for young students. I would ideally use this book in a first grade classroom. One way I would incorporate this book into my lesson would be as a read aloud. First graders want nothing more than to be the first one done with their work whether or not they have taken the time and care to do their best work. This story is a great reminder to slow down and focus on what you are doing, that the fastest doesn't always equal the best work.

Another way I would love to use this book is to introduce elements of a story to students. This is a great book to focus on setting, characters, and events by using details from the story to help them. The story is simple enough for young students to understand and follow along with while also being a great mentor text for teaching about books.

[Megan Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choice (Fable)
Stevens, Janet. The Tortoise and the Hare (1984). This book tells the story of an annoying Hare that is always bullying the tortoise about how slow he is at everything. One day, the hare challenges the tortoise to a race and with encouragements from his friends, tortoise agrees to do it. Tortoise’s friends help him prepare for the race and when the big day comes, tortoise feels prepared. Hare takes off and is so sure he will win, he stops at bears house, mouse’s house, and finally stops before the finish line to take a nap. The tortoise continues on his way and the hare immediately begins to regret his decisions.The moral at the end of the story is that hard work and perseverance bring reward. This story is great in that its motif teaches children an important lesson of perseverance, the tortoise never gives up, just as Hercules does not give up in his twelve labors. The illustrations are somewhat realistic, but depict the characters wearing clothes and acting human-like, thus giving the book a very fiction feeling. The bright and cheery colors make this story appealing to children. Target Audience: Lower Elementary K-3

[Terea W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tortoise and the Hare is a children’s fable book for ages 3-7 years old. The Tortoise and the Hare is about an energetic Hare and a very slow Tortoise. Both decides to race one another, and the Tortoise even though very slow wins the race because of his patience and perseverance whereas the Hare was being too cocky and fast which tired himself out making him lose the race. I believe the characters personalities were very effective in this book and taught a valuable lesson. Showing readers that you may think because of someone’s abilities that they’ll be the winner but in one’s determination can prove a winner like how the Tortoise won and the Hare lost. I believe this book would be appealing to young readers because readers in the beginning will believe that the Hare will be the winner because it’s a rabbit and they’re fast and by seeing how the Hare’s attitude in the story is, but while reading readers will see how the Tortoise never stops no matter how slow he’s going he continues to “run”. I think this would be a good book to discuss competition and winning and losing to young children who don’t understand, but also teach a lesson.

[Emily Rifanburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tortoise and the Hare is about a hare who thinks he will undoubtedly win a race between him and the tortoise. When the two race, the hare is so confident he lays down to rest during the race. The tortoise eventually passes the hare and wins the race. I believe this book would be appropriate for any grade level from K-2. It is a classic tale which sends the message that consistent hard work and determination will bring success in the long run. Confidence, although useful in some cases, does not always pay off. The story overall motivates everyone to put their best foot forward, regardless of their strengths and weaknesses because in the end really anything is possible. A fun thing to do after reading this together as a class would be to divide the class into two teams, one being the tortoise and one being the hare, and let them compete in an intellectual competition such as a crossword puzzle or debate. Another way to incorporate this into the classroom would be to read it together and then construct our own story as a class featuring two other animals with different strengths and weaknesses who race or battle each other in some way.

[cassia Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tortoise and the hare an Aesop Fable adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens. This poetry fable was first published in 1984 and reprinted by Holiday House. The age intendent for this reading is children between three years old and seven years old. The tortoise and the Hare share the story of a friendly and quiet tortoise and a flashy and rude Hare that end up in a race suggested by the Hare to prove a point that the tortoise was too slow to win. The text is great for young readers and a good option to read aloud. With shorter paragraphs, the reading goes smooth and keeps the attention of the little ones in check. The illustrations are very detailed and are pencil colored looking like. This fable is a great option book to be used in the classroom with children among kindergarten and first grader students. It can be used in a lesson or a part of an activity. This book teaches us about the importance of hard work and perseverance. Also, teaches that you can be more successful doing things slow and steadily than by acting quickly and carelessly. For all those reasons I decided to rate the tortoise and the hare five stars and recommend as a great family reading.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. This book has not received any awards.
2. This book is appropriate for K-3rd grade.
3. “The Tortoise and the Hare” is a well-known Aesop fable. This version of the classic tale explains how the Tortoise and the Hare prepare for the big race. The Tortoise wins against the Hare even though he is slower. This book goes into detail about the emotions that the characters are experiencing.
4. I like the repetition of this version of the classic fable. Because it is so repetitive, it could easily be a book that children can join in on telling and become a book they could read themselves. The book has details in the illustrations such as letters on the chests of the Tortoise, the Hare, and the Bear, each with the first letter of their "name" which can help in spelling/phonological awareness.
5. Two in-class uses for this book are:
-Proving that hard work and perseverance pay off in the end- "slow and steady wins the race"
-This book could be used to teach repetition and help children learn how to read alone

[Jecenia Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fable

Stevens, Janet. The Tortoise and the Hare: An Aesop Fable. Holiday House, 1984. Stevens’ adaptation of The Tortoise and the Hare is action-packed, easy to follow, and it highlights the classic lesson of slow and steady wins the race/perseverance pays off. The characters are realistically drawn as animals with human qualities. Stevens uses bold colors, shadows, and details that bring the characters to the forefront of the story. The settings are somewhat muted, but that draws the reader to the characters more than the surroundings. The Tortoise is polite and slow to finish tasks- the reader can gather this by the number of friends that help him when the Hare challenges him to a race. The Hare is negative and always in a rush. He is so narcissistic that he does not take the race seriously-even napping towards the end of the race. When the Tortoise wins the race with all his friends surrounding him cheering him on- the message is loud and clear, and stated explicitly (and boldly) in the text, “HARD WORK AND PERSEVERANCE BRING REWARD.” Ages: 4-7

[Kara Danford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Traditional Literature- Fable
Awards: None
Audience: K-5th grade
A. The main character hare is described as flashy, rude, and does everything quickly. The main character tortoise is described as friendly, quiet, and slow.
B. I am not familiar with any other versions of this story. I have only seen this same story and plot line illustrated in different ways.
C. I would use this story for storytelling with a group of students. I think that there is a strong moral to the story that would teach students that hard work and perseverance pay off or in other words, "slow and steady wins the race" as was shown when the slow tortoise beats the fast hare.
D. Discuss the reasoning behind why the hare was unable to beat the tortoise in the race. The hare did not win the race because he grew to be overconfident and was not trying during the race and ended up getting passed by the tortoise who put in weeks of hard work to train and put all of his effort into the race.

[Ariel Pickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tortoise and the Hare: An Aesop Fable is a folklore book by Janet Stevens. The book tells a story about a Hare who thought he was the best at everything and a timid Tortoise who enjoys taking his time that entered in a race to see who would come out victorious. This was a WOW book for me because it has a great meaning to it, to keep trying and you will succeed. This book would be great to teach compare and contrast of character traits. The book could be read aloud to the class then complete a compare and contrast chart on the board together before they begin writing a comparison piece on their own. It can also be read and completed in smaller group settings where students read the book in their group then complete the compare and contrast charts in groups and present their charts to the rest of the class. This is also a great mentor text to use for a narrative and descriptive piece of writing.

[Ryan Scharf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Traditional Literature, specifically a fable
Awards: None
Audience: Ages 5-9
A: The tortoise is described as a slow, relaxed, and easy going animal. The hare is described as anoveractive, hyper, and fast animal.
B: I am not familiar with any other versions of the story besides the original fable written by Aesop.
C: I would use "The Tortoise and the Hare" in a group setting scenario. I would also use this work to teach a concept in that it does not matter how fast you are, slow and steady can win the race. I then would use real life situations so the audience could establish the connection between this fable and real life.
D: Regarding Bloom's Taxonomy, specifically the "Understand" column, a question I could ask would be, "Why did the tortoise win the race?" An answer could be, "Because he took his time rather than the hare."

[Parker Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tortoise and the Hare: An Aesop Fable is by Janet Stevens, the story talks about a two animal friends that decide to race. The hare believes he will win no problem because he is so fast and the turtle is so slow. the turtle also thinks that he is going to win and that the hare is going to lose. The race begins and the hare was off to a big lead and decides he has time to stop and rest, but he overslept and the turtle passed him and wins the race.

This book is a great way to explain to children about about karma, and it is a fun exciting read. There are lots of fun moments throughout the book. I have always liked books that teaches people manners but in a fun and exciting way. This is why I rated this book the way I did. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read it.

[Amanda Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This traditional book is one of many favorites. The hare continues to constantly bully the tortoise by telling him he was always slow. The tortoise was finally convinced by his friends to race the hare and to prove hare wrong. His friends were tired of him being bullied by the ugly hare. So poor tortoise trained and trained until the day of the race came. During the race hare passed tortoise 3 times, on the third time hare decided to take a nap near a pond. Little did he know that his nap would cost him his victory. Hare woke up to the crowd cheering at tortoise's victory to the race. Moral of the story never give up trying, hard work and perseverance goes a long way.
Such a nice story to read to children.

[Brent Chouanard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is wonderful for young students who could learn about slow and steady wins the race. All students (and adults too) will rush through something to get to a free time, choice activity, or just finish just to get done with something. This book can be a good story to learn to slow down and keep trying even if it seems like they may not make it to the end. Students can learn perseverance and hard work can pay off in the end. Many of Aesop's Fables have many lessons and motifs that students can identify and write about. I love using books and stories to create writing prompts, especially if students have all read the book recently and have that shared experience of reading the book. Their answers are often unique and it is fun to read their responses.