Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?

by Toni Morrison, Slade Morrison, Pascal Lemaître (Illustrations)

The Ant (Kid A) and the Grasshopper (Foxy G) are urban pals who shoot hoops and groove on the music Foxy G makes with his wings---until the weather turns and Kid A decides it's time to get ready for winter. Foxy G keeps making music---the music that Kid A dances to as he prepares for winter. When the snow comes, Foxy G's wings won't make music any more. Cold and hungry, he shows up at Kid A's warm and cozy house, but Kid A won't let him in. Here, where Aesop's grasshopper is defeated, Morrison's is more than a little defiant. Pascal Lemaitre's illustrations wittily capture the adventures of this laid-back pair of insects as their values make them part ways. The Morrisons' fresh re-telling of The Ant and the Grasshopper'' injects the tale with exhilarating vibrancy and a fascinating sense of ambiguity. In our versions, '' says Toni Morrison, the original stories are opened up and their moralistic endings re-imagined: the victim might not lose; the timid gets a chance to become strong; the fool can gain insight; the powerful may lose their grip. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.''

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, African American, Graphic Novels, Poetry, Audiobook

Unbound

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 with a B.A. in English. Morrison earned a master's degree in American Literature from Cornell University in 1955. In 1957 she returned to Howard University, was married, and had two children before divorcing in 1964. Morrison became the first black female editor for fiction at Random House in New York City in the late 1960s. She developed her own reputation as an author in the 1970s and '80s. Her novel Beloved was made into a film in 1998. Morrison's works are praised for addressing the harsh consequences of racism in the United States and the Black American experience.
The National Endowment for the Humanities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities, in 1996. She was honored with the National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters the same year. President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 29, 2012. She received the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction in 2016. Morrison was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the originals. Much better. Kinder and with more sly humor. Great for all ages!

[K2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first two stories were really good....the last was cool!

[Tami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I found the rhythms of the text difficult to grasp at times (I read the book aloud). It seemed to me there were a lot of slant rhymes which are often difficult for younger children to grasp in a book that's aimed for them.

I wasn't particularly crazy about the story adaptation either; The Grasshopper and the Ant is one of my favorite fables and I did not feel the characters or the main theme of the story was clear in this version.

It is also important to note that the text is in cursive (and it is the messy, casual--not the school-form cursive)--something my 10-year-old still finds distracting and difficult to read independently.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will definitely let my grandson listen to this. Toni's voice is so soothing and familiar. I listened to this back to back. I wish there were a whole collection. Perhaps there is - I'll have to do some researching.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Update of Aesop. Nicely done.

[Albablume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous especially when it's read by the author herself! I highly recommend this to young and adult audiences.

[Megan Denney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel is about an Ant and Grasshopper named Forcy G and Kid A. The two have hung out all summer long and then Kid A says its time to split. Forcy G breaks out in a tune sharing his music as Art with everyone. Forcy G goes back to work going to the grocery store and did his chores. He also began to start to dance. Forcy G then knocked on Kid A's door and was asking to come in and was cold and hungry. The Kid A said he should have known what tomorrow would bring. Forcy G tried to explain that his art is work and that he is chasing his dream. The book leaves it to the reader to decide who's got game.

I do not think that I would include this book into my classroom because the text is written in a cursive text and I think that that will make it hard for young readers to be able to read.

A teaching point for this book would be to teach your students to adjust to who the author is directing in the book. Also, another book would be to break up the book and teach it in sections and teach about rhyming words within the book.

[Holly Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm...what exactly is the moral here? Are we supposed to be sympathetic to the grasshopper? I would use this picture book with it's retelling of a fable for the classroom in a traditional literature unit, but it would be interesting what the kids would articulate as the moral. The font is a little difficult to read, but I think kids would like the comic-style format.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three fables are revisited and re-imagined. Slightly new titles are: The Ant or the Grasshopper?, the Lion or the Mouse? Poppy or the Snake?. They are modernized and changed-up to end differently, perhaps strangely, maybe with new lessons, certainly to make the reader rethink them. Nicely illustrated.

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great stimulus for a children's philosophy dialogue!

[Jari Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were great!!! I listened to the Audiobook and I have to buy the print copy. The last fable with Poppy and the snake, made me think about who I accept as a friend.

[Carl Waluconis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Nobel prize winner jumped the graphic novel craze in 2003 by publishing a children's book with her son written in graphic novel style? The writing is also verse or song. The art is charming. The story is a re-telling of the old fable, this time on whether to work on practical things or spend your time creating song. What is this truly great writer and her son's conclusion? Well, you'll have to read it. We have now lost both writers, and this book, not as famous as her novels, is still blazingly original.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenges: May 2020 - 20/31 books; Reading Toni Morrison 2020 - Bonus book/1. A collaboration of mother and son, read by Toni Morrison to retell re-imagined Aesop Fables. Complementary friendship represents the importance of both food for the body and food for the soul; identity swapping replaces humble wisdom with the bravado of the bully; self-respect requires that one pay attention for self-preservation, even while helping others. Beautifully produced musical accompaniment and writing by the Morrisons while Toni Morrison's voice soothes the soul.

[Emile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved both the language (rhythms & word choice) as well as the slightly meatier and more nuanced take on the fables. The audiobook version is great; Morrison is a fantastic reader. I have no idea if the physical book is illustrated, so I don't know if I'm missing something there.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, wow, brutally ambiguous ending. Definitely not for little kids. (The cursive font is a clue for you, mom.) Read together and discuss.

I see that there are others in the series; I will look for them.

[Mills College Library]

Fiction M8812a 2003

[Amy]

Challenging, both in terms of content and visually.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot some of these stories. Super cute

[Cindy Deane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original retelling (is that an oxymoron?) that is full of cleverness and fun!

[Sela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toni Morrison, escriba lo que escriba siempre te deja reflexionando.
Escuché el audiolibro narrado por ella y le da un toque especial.
Gran cuento!

[Yuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art is work assholes

[Lolá · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to this in Toni Morrison's voice is an experience in itself. I love her voice as much as I love the lyrical quality of each story.

[Angela Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toni Morrison does an apt take on fables. Worth a read for sure.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! So engaging and interesting. Loved it!

[Brenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toni Morrison and her son Slade retell one of Aesop's fables here, though I don't know the original (yikes, THAT needs to be fixed) so I'm not sure what sort of liberties they've taken with the story. It was enjoyable enough, and the artwork of the book was delightfully suited to the tale.

The artwork, in fact, was what first got my attention; I first pegged it as Johann Sfar when it crossed my desk at work, but upon opening the cover saw that it was someone named Pascal LeMaitre. I'm beginning to think that there is a definite French style of cartooning, which at first seemed odd to me since cartooning and illustration in general is such a wildly varied field of personal stylizing, but then again most Asian cartoonists seem to adhere to very similar styles so it shouldn't surprise me so much that various French artists (I just found another one today, Christophe Blain, and recall another, Manu Larcenet) draw very similarly.

[Roger DeBlanck · Rating 3 out of 5]

With her son Slade, Toni Morrison has written a series of picture books under the umbrella title Who’s Got Game? However, The Ant or the Grasshopper? deals with concepts that are perhaps too confusing for a young child’s cognitive level. Morrison plays around with Aesop’s Fable and has an ant and grasshopper exploring the importance of friendship, art, and the work of the artist. This story is probably best suited for middle-school ages, but the layout of the book is not overly appealing. For one, the cursive font is difficult to read, especially since Morrison brings her crafted dialogue and superb prose to the picture book level. The illustrations are also unimpressive as they appear compressed in a cartoon-like structure. Morrison is one of the most respected writers in the world, but this picture book is very average.

[Salsabrarian]

The Aesop's fable with hip-hop ambience. Set in what looks like NewYork City, Ant and Grasshopper spend the summer hanging out in the park, romping and rapping. Fall sets in and Ant feels the need to start gearing up for winter. While he works to prepare his home and store food, Grasshopper keeps making enjoyable music. Winter arrives and the bedraggled Grasshopper looks to Ant to provide refuge. But Ant refuses, saying he "should have known what tomorrow would bring. Then you wouldn't be begging for anything."Grasshopper declares "I'm an artist, that's what I do! You loved my music so respect me too!" The story ends not on the side of the ant, but unresolved.Who's right, who's got game: the practical one or the artist? The last page of Grasshopper slogging alone in the snowstorm is spooky and unsettling.

[Wren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel this is geared more towards boys than girls. I liked the rhyming - it was well done - as well as the way it was like a comic book. It is unique. The only problem I had with it was that, while the font was pretty, I think it might be difficult for children to read. Either an older child would need to read it, or a parent would need to read it to a younger child. Of course, this second may have been the intention because the rhymes sound better aloud, but it would make learning to read difficult.

[Claudia Naranjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foxy G and Kid A are friends who enjoy hanging out all day long. Kid A knows summer brake is over, and it is time to go back to work while Foxy G has a different idea. He just wants to play music at the park. Kid A works really hard to get ready for winter. Winter is here, who’s got game now?

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting slant on some classic fables. Don’t expect the endings to be the same: whatever was may not be! Creative, imaginative, and highly entertaining, this children’s audio is well-performed by Toni Morrison and a delight for the whole family.