The McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables

by Michael Morpurgo, Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator)

Ancient Aesop swings into the twenty-first century in this bright new collection of twenty-one favorite fables. Here are all the classic the greedy dog who loses his bone to his own reflection in the water; the little mouse who pays back the grand lion in a big, big way; and the shepherd's son who thinks it's a good joke to cry "Wolf!" just to see the villagers come running. And, of course, there's that arrogant hare and his racing partner, the slow but steady tortoise.
Michael Morpurgo's lively language gives each tale a fresh feel that's perfect for reading aloud and sharing. Emma Chichester Clark's radiant illustrations are bursting with bold colors and cheerful characters. Together they have created a modern classic brimming with fun, which children will enjoy reading and laughing over again and again.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Picture Books, Fables, Folklore

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2004

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of twenty-one classic fables from Aesop, retold by the talented Michael Morpurgo, described on the dust-jacket flap as the "children's laureate of Britain." Here the reader will encounter old favorites like The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse and The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, as well as some lesser-known selections like The Peacock and the Crane.

Morpurgo's prose is informal and humorous, and Emma Chichester Clark's colorful and expressive illustrations are the perfect complement to the text. I particularly liked the mice in Belling the Cat, and the lion in The Lion and the Mouse. Well into my Aesop project at this point, I found The McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables a delightful volume, with its felicitous meeting of image and word. The design of the book, moreover, with its generous page size, and well-spaced stories, make this collection an ideal one for younger children.

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. The retellings were very good—slightly modernized while still staying true to the best parts of the fable style. The stories selected for inclusion were a nice mix of familiar and more obscure but interesting. The pictures by Emma Chichester Clark were beautiful.

[Tharema Alim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aeosp Fables by Michael Morpurgo is wonderful book filled with mini stories such as ‘The lion and the mouse’, ‘The hare and the tortoise’ and many more. Each story is short and has a moral at the end for the reader to ponder on, such as “kindness is more important than strength”. The book is a very easy read and has vibrant pictures to captivate the reader. Therefore I believe the book can be used for the age range 5-11 and even teenagers and adults can enjoy this book, as the stories can relate to real life issues.

In addition this book can be used as a book on the bookshelf or even implemented into a lesson. This is because I can remember being in my primary school and at the last 15 minutes of the day the teacher would read one of the stories from Aesop fables and would then ask us what we think the moral could be from the story. We would have mini discussions with our peers and then discuss ways on how to embed the teaching from the story into school or our daily lives. Overall I have enjoyed reading this story once again in my adult years just as much as I did in my primary years – a must read.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good version of Aesop's Fables, but we're still looking for our 5 star version--the one we want to buy our home library. Do you have one you just LOVE?

[J. White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just one of those certain books that I just didn't enjoy. The book has some good fables in and most of them I recognise... But that doesn't change my opinion in any manner.

[Carlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really beautiful illustrations. The fables just fleshed out long enough to be interesting to kids. Not quite sure on the choice of some of the fables included, but nevertheless a fun read.

[Caroline Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this collection of Aesop's Fables. the illustrations are enjoyable to look at while you read the fables. I also enjoy that the moral/lesson of each fable is in all caps so it is easy to see. This would be a great book to introduce fables to students because of the big text and pictures that go along with it. This could also be put in a classroom library if students are interested in reading a collection of Aesop's Fables.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this version of these fables.
Morpurgo always tells a good tale and he makes these fables really come to life, ably helped by Emma Chichester Clark's wonderful illustrations. Lovely rad aloud book for chn of all ages.

[Oscar Mahama · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are valuable morals on every page.

[Olive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olive really loved and was enchanted by these fables.

[Carrie]

Olive really enjoyed these fables. I liked how short they were! Great bedtime stories.

[Robin Coral · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. These are old stories with very good lessons. However like most old stories there are a few in this that are rather dark.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fables are great and the Emma Chichester Clark illustrations are delightful.

[Amar Pai · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the end of each story Morpurgo tells you what the moral of the story was. e.g. for the boy who cried wolf it's "Nobody believes a liar even when he tells the truth." But in several cases I felt like this book gets the moral completely wrong! Like for the Hare and the Tortoise, I remember thinking the moral according to the book was completely stupid. "Dare to believe in yourself," or something like that. Is it just a matter of interpretation? I always thought the morals of Aesop's Fables were obvious and self-evident, but I guess not.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories teach you alot of lessons that you can think of all your life so that you don't di them and be real greedy. Because none of us will like having no friends and losing a lot of bets. So i reccommend this book to al of you.

[Hoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories were simplistic and the morale left room for discussion. The boys enjoyed the short stories but at times lost interest. I felt it was lacking something... I can't put my finger on.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, colorful pictures and nice, big words for beginning readers to read!

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book for practicing narrations. Many of the stories were already familiar to my children and they enjoyed the simple clear retelling.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the sassiness of the morals in this book.