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Aesop Elementary School #1
The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School
Here's a chapter book of contemporary fables about a rambunctious group of fourth graders and their amazing teacher—the globe-trotting, Mayan-ceremonial-robe-wearing Mr. Jupiter—that is sure to delight students and teachers alike. There's Calvin Tallywong, who wants to go back to kindergarten. But when he actually gets the chance, he's forced to do the squirrel dance and wear a school bus name tag. The moral of his story? Be careful what you wish for. Then there's Amisha Spelwadi, who can spell wildebeest, no problem. When Mr. Jupiter asks the class to spell cat , all Amisha can come up with is kat . The Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Kids will laugh out loud as they learn tried-and-true lessons in this funny, fast-paced book. And don't miss the class's continued adventures in The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming.
186 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2005
40 people are currently reading
609 people want to read
About the author
Candace Fleming
66 books626 followersI have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.
I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.
Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories "fibs" they called them "imaginative." They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on.
In second grade, I discovered a passion for language. I can still remember the day my teacher, Miss Johnson, held up a horn-shaped basket filled with papier-mache pumpkins and asked the class to repeat the word "cornucopia." I said it again and again, tasted the word on my lips. I tested it on my ears. That afternoon, I skipped all the way home from school chanting, "Cornucopia! Cornucopia!" From then on, I really began listening to words—to the sounds they made, and the way they were used, and how they made me feel. I longed to put them together in ways that were beautiful, and yet told a story.
As I grew, I continued to write stories. But I never really thought of becoming an author. Instead, I went to college where I discovered yet another passion—history. I didn't realize it then, but studying history is really just an extension of my love of stories. After all, some of the best stories are true ones — tales of heroism and villainy made more incredible by the fact they really happened.
After graduation, I got married and had children. I read to them a lot, and that's when I discovered the joy and music of children's books. I simply couldn't get enough of them. With my two sons in tow, I made endless trips to the library. I read stacks of books. I found myself begging, "Just one more, pleeeeease!" while my boys begged for lights-out and sleep. Then it struck me. Why not write children's books? It seemed the perfect way to combine all the things I loved: stories, musical language, history, and reading. I couldn't wait to get started.
But writing children's books is harder than it looks. For three years I wrote story after story. I sent them to publisher after publisher. And I received rejection letter after rejection letter. Still, I didn't give up. I kept trying until finally one of my stories was pulled from the slush pile and turned into a book. My career as a children's author had begun.
I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.
Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories "fibs" they called them "imaginative." They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on.
In second grade, I discovered a passion for language. I can still remember the day my teacher, Miss Johnson, held up a horn-shaped basket filled with papier-mache pumpkins and asked the class to repeat the word "cornucopia." I said it again and again, tasted the word on my lips. I tested it on my ears. That afternoon, I skipped all the way home from school chanting, "Cornucopia! Cornucopia!" From then on, I really began listening to words—to the sounds they made, and the way they were used, and how they made me feel. I longed to put them together in ways that were beautiful, and yet told a story.
As I grew, I continued to write stories. But I never really thought of becoming an author. Instead, I went to college where I discovered yet another passion—history. I didn't realize it then, but studying history is really just an extension of my love of stories. After all, some of the best stories are true ones — tales of heroism and villainy made more incredible by the fact they really happened.
After graduation, I got married and had children. I read to them a lot, and that's when I discovered the joy and music of children's books. I simply couldn't get enough of them. With my two sons in tow, I made endless trips to the library. I read stacks of books. I found myself begging, "Just one more, pleeeeease!" while my boys begged for lights-out and sleep. Then it struck me. Why not write children's books? It seemed the perfect way to combine all the things I loved: stories, musical language, history, and reading. I couldn't wait to get started.
But writing children's books is harder than it looks. For three years I wrote story after story. I sent them to publisher after publisher. And I received rejection letter after rejection letter. Still, I didn't give up. I kept trying until finally one of my stories was pulled from the slush pile and turned into a book. My career as a children's author had begun.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
September 4, 2008
Although it was perhaps a little bit TOO "punny" for my tastes, I can see how elementary school kids would get a real kick out of this as a read-aloud. Each chapter in this story of the notorious fourth-grade class at Aesop Elementary tells one of Aesop's fables in a new way, though the original morals are included at the end of each chapter. My favorite character, of course, is the school librarian, whose name is--are you ready for it?--Paige Turner. It was a fun, light read that has definite appeal for school-agers.
April 13, 2018
I would rate this a 3.5. We did this for our grades 2-5 book discussion. It was a cute story about a rambunctious class of fourth graders who get a new teacher, Mr. Jupiter, who is eccentric but really cares for the kids. Each chapter is about a different character, and has a moral attached to it. The names of the characters are a hoot as well...the librarian's name is Paige Turner!
August 26, 2018
I gave this 3 stars as I know some of my humor loving students will enjoy the puns. I didn’t love the book as I felt it was a bit scattered.
November 17, 2012
Summary from the inside left flap: The fourth grade students at Aesop Elementary have a reputation for being . . . Rambunctious, Precocious, Special.
Take Calvin Tallywong. He wants to go back to kindergarten, but he should be careful what he wishes for! When Calvin actually gets the chance, he's forced to do the squirrel dance and wear a yellow school bus name tag. How will he ever escape?
And then there's Amisha Spelwadi, who can spell wildebeest, no problemo. She's sure she'll ace her spelling test, but . . . she shouldn't count her chickens before they're hatched ! Suddenly Amisha is given a really tricky word.
Luckily, these students and their classmates, like Ham Samitch (who loves to eat) and Victoria Sovaine (who loves herself), have a dinosaur-digging, Mayan-ceremonial-robe-wearing teacher named Mr. Jupiter to guide them.
I know a young girl who, according to her mom, considers me to be her hero and considers library her favorite class. How cool is that? The only hero librarian I've heard of is Barbara Gordon aka Bat Girl. Well, I'm no Bat Girl, but I wanted to foster this young girl's love of books, so while at the Texas Book Festival I was on the look out for a special book. My young friend is a fourth grader, so when I saw this book I thought it would be perfect.
I love Candace Fleming's picture books and her non-fiction books. Her illustrator husband, Eric Rohman is a favorite as well. I'd never read any of Fleming's chapter books. Oh, how I wish I had before I bought this for my young friend and before I ordered it for the library.
I know that adults are not the targeted audience for this book and I tried hard to view this as one of my students would. The book is play on Aesop's fables. Morals abound. Even if each chapter hadn't ended with a moral, most adults would be able to recognize the classic fables presented in a somewhat quirky and modernistic fashion. The problem is that I'm not sure students will get the fable connections. Unlike Louis Sachar's Wayside School series, the humor seems to be targeted more for adults than kids.
Another problem I had with the story (and this is totally from the perspective of an adult) was the behavior of the kids. I really didn't find it humorous or quirky. Instead they just came across as incredibly ill mannered. I hate it when I read a book and I can't find one character I like.
I'm very disappointed in this book. I'm not sure I will bother reading the sequel and I'm very worried that my young friend for whom I purchased the book will think I've lost my mind. She may never ask me for a book recommendation again.
March 18, 2019
This book feels very much like Louis Sachar's Wayside School series. It features a wacky class/school and each chapter focused on a different student within the class. I do like the format with each chapter its own fable with a moral at the end. That, in itself, could be a cool instructional piece. However, this falls way short of Sachar's genius creativity in Wayside. The humor relies far too much on puns and the characters are one-dimensional and fall into school story stereotypes. Most stories are funny and cute, but some fall flat and the ones that work are not anything I haven't read better elsewhere. Sachar's writing works so well because he commits to the wacky, and this one felt like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be weird or not.
I also disliked the librarian storyline...a LOT. Naming your librarian Paige Turner is one not-very-creative thing, but that's not what I dislike the most. Creating a librarian character that embodies all stuffy, prim & proper librarian stereotypes and then making her skank herself up for a male teacher...just. so. icky. I don't care that he tells her at the end that he liked her just the way she was - it's still really gross and not needed at all. On another nit-picky note, her fascination with the Dewey Decimal System is really outdated and annoying.
Overall, librarian-rant aside, this was a cute concept that could have been better executed.
I also disliked the librarian storyline...a LOT. Naming your librarian Paige Turner is one not-very-creative thing, but that's not what I dislike the most. Creating a librarian character that embodies all stuffy, prim & proper librarian stereotypes and then making her skank herself up for a male teacher...just. so. icky. I don't care that he tells her at the end that he liked her just the way she was - it's still really gross and not needed at all. On another nit-picky note, her fascination with the Dewey Decimal System is really outdated and annoying.
Overall, librarian-rant aside, this was a cute concept that could have been better executed.
March 22, 2011
Strongly reminds me of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Each chapter centers around a main character and wraps up with a moral from Aesop's Fables. Some of the morals fit the story better than others. So far, I'm enjoying the book and would recommend it to students, though it's not one I would choose as a read aloud or small group novel.
Final verdict -- I liked it and found most of the stories amusing, but I don't think it's a fantastic book.
Continuing connections -- If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand.
I loved Dewey or Don't We, the story of how the librarian tricks her reluctant students into learning the Dewey Decimal system. March Madness is a charming story about how pointless and time-consuming standardized testing can be.
Final verdict -- I liked it and found most of the stories amusing, but I don't think it's a fantastic book.
Continuing connections -- If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand.
I loved Dewey or Don't We, the story of how the librarian tricks her reluctant students into learning the Dewey Decimal system. March Madness is a charming story about how pointless and time-consuming standardized testing can be.
November 26, 2013
A quite clever book for children! Fleming makes Aesop's Fables come alive in the classroom for children. Kids will love her play on words and the wonderful exaggerations and storytelling of Mr. Jupiter. Each 2-3 page chapter with its accompanying moral would make for a great bedtime story and conversation started for parents and child.
January 10, 2022
MY 8YO LOVED THIS SO MUCH HE CHECKED IT OUT FOR ME TWO DAYS BEFORE THE SCHOOL LIBRARY CLOSED FOR THE YEAR AND TOLD ME TO “READ FAST”
August 3, 2019
At first I was a little distracted by the fact that each chapter was its own story. Then I thought of my grade school teacher who read us a chapter a day at the end of the school day. This would be perfect for that. The stories were very well done and the interesting characters in the class and the school faculty made the book.
The premise is that the fourth grade students at Aesop Elementary have a well known reputation as trouble makers. Each chapter tells a story about a situation in a modern Aesop fable story. The kids and the teachers are very unique and there is a back story that does run throughout the book.
I have thought about what these children will become in their adulthood. The influence of Mr. Jupiter will be a amazing input in their lives and their out-of-the-box thinking will take them far.
The premise is that the fourth grade students at Aesop Elementary have a well known reputation as trouble makers. Each chapter tells a story about a situation in a modern Aesop fable story. The kids and the teachers are very unique and there is a back story that does run throughout the book.
I have thought about what these children will become in their adulthood. The influence of Mr. Jupiter will be a amazing input in their lives and their out-of-the-box thinking will take them far.
July 17, 2017
I LOVED this book! Fans of "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" will enjoy this kooky set of stories about an infamous group of students that no teacher wants to take on until Mr. Jupiter arrives at Aesop School on the last day of summer vacation. Filled with wacky characters, such as Paige Turner (the librarian), Victoria Sovaine (the pretty girl), Varicella Zoster (a preschooler with chicken pox) and Stanford Binet (the smart kid), the book has many tongue-in-cheek moments that would make older elementary students laugh out loud. I chuckled aloud many times. This book would be a fun classroom read-aloud, as each excerpt is based on one of Aesop's morals, and it could provoke many fun discussions about what lesson has been learned by these "robust" fourth-graders. GREAT BOOK!
April 6, 2021
We got this for my son to read aloud. Within the first few pages he told me this was a bad read. I insisted we give it a chance. Well we are now about half way and neither of us care to have him finish this book. I thought the modern retelling of Aesop fables was a great idea, but these are so poorly done. The character names are supposed to be funny, but they are just distracting for my son who fixated on why the names are that way. The author tried too hard to be clever, instead on focusing on good writing basics. She took quality stories that have survived through time and did nothing to enhance them for a modern reader. Definitely not worth the time to read or the money to purchase.
December 14, 2018
The first chapter of this book hooked me completely--wacky teacher with wild life experiences comes to teach an unruly group of kids. I'm sold. The book reminded me a bit of the Sideways Stories by Louis Sachar, and it had the great life lesson piece to each chapter. What was missing for me was that I was craving more of knowing the teacher and perhaps some deeper involvement from him. I do love a good teacher book, though, and this one will go on my list of recommended reads for fourth graders and teachers.
July 18, 2022
This was such a fun read for the classroom!!!! If you teach 4th or 5th, do NOT sleep on this. I gave each student a part to have in the story. So the entirety of the book, we read together in class and students kept their role. Some students picked up extra parts. It was so much fun. The kids loved it and begged me not to read the last chapter because they didn’t want it to end. Reluctant readers loved opening it up too.
I loved how it was written similar to Wayside School where each chapter is it’s own story. Try to get your hands on a class set! Totally worth it!
I loved how it was written similar to Wayside School where each chapter is it’s own story. Try to get your hands on a class set! Totally worth it!
November 2, 2017
I didn't actually finish this one but wanted it to show up in my recommended books for kids. I read about half and found it funny and very kid-friendly, but it wasn't keeping my attention as an adult, and I have a shelf full of books I wanted to finish! Ellyn LOVED it and promptly asked for book 2. It was recommended to her by our local children's librarian. :)
October 18, 2018
Cute read....nothing too deep. I’m giving it four stars as a kid’s book...because I can see my students getting a kick out of this crazy, fast paced style. I’d recommend it to my fifth graders as a nice refresher between heavier novels. Like a palette cleanser. ;). They’d find the crazy personalities and chapters amusing...reminds me of Wayside School.
January 24, 2021
This was a amazing book there were multiples stories just in one book which was truly interesting, and the way the author wrote like the theme and style 5 out of 5 for that cause it shows you 1. truly how a fourth grader is and feels like and 2. it makes you feel like you have been there even if you are a adult.
June 25, 2019
Initially added this older book that had been kicking around my novel basket to a book in verse stack. After reading, it’s more a spin on Aesop’s fables. Seems obvious ,right? Some situations and dialogue are dated, but might be used as a mentor text for lesson driven narrative writing.
December 31, 2020
These stories do a good job of illustrating the points made by Aesop (being honest and the value of preparation and etc) but without the brevity of the original fables these kind of drag. with a new, boring/drab window dressing.
November 2, 2021
*Read with children* Never have I read something that screams 2007 more. Some of the chapters were funny and got laughs but there were just too many “oh god” moments. Not great depictions of women and a lot of exotifying of other places
February 12, 2018
Wonderful humor. Engaging characters. Kept my granddaughter and me completely engaged.
August 24, 2018
A humorous, perfect-for-the-beginning-of-the-year read for fourth grade students. I anticipate they will enjoy this one!
September 22, 2019
I love it
April 28, 2020
I read this to my kids. Aesop's fables are better, but my kids enjoyed it.
September 20, 2020
Oh my gosh...
This was HILARIOUS!!!
So funny and cute.
Please. Read. This.
Too funny. I loved this class.
Did I mention it was funny?
It was funny.
This was HILARIOUS!!!
So funny and cute.
Please. Read. This.
Too funny. I loved this class.
Did I mention it was funny?
It was funny.
October 12, 2020
Jane's teacher read this to her at school & I was curious about it. It's somewhat similar to Wayside School by Louis Sachar. I did like the morals at the end of each chapter.
November 24, 2021
Super silly and enjoyable recommended to everyone who loves a little dry humor 🙂🤣🙂🤣😂🤣😀👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👶🏿👶🏿
July 16, 2022
Typing…
July 10, 2023
this book is so nostalgic 😭😭
March 21, 2024
I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars. I found it very amusing. There are several name puns that were enjoyable. Each chapter is a quick modern take on a fable, complete with the moral at the end.
July 2, 2024
Definitely a little dated now, but we still enjoyed reading it together!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews