The Big Book of Fables

Big Book of

by Walter Jerrold, Charles Robinson (Illustrations)

A magnificent treasury of popular fables, this rare compilation offers a bounty of delightful images by artist and engraver Charles Robinson, a premier Golden Age illustrator. Black-and-white line art appears on nearly every page of this hardcover volume, in addition to 28 plates of full- and two-color images. Decorative initials and borders, hand lettering, silhouettes, and other ornaments embellish renderings of more than 140 fables, some expressed in simple, direct language and others rendered in charming verse. Includes such familiar tales as "The Fox and the Grapes," "A City Mouse and a Country Mouse," and "The Dog in a Manger," as well as lesser-known stories.

Genres: Childrens

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

English writer, biographer and newspaper editor. Walter Copeland Jerrold (1865-1929) was born in Liverpool but spent most of his life in London, where he followed a literary career. Starting work as a clerk in a newspaper counting-house, he went on to become deputy editor of The Observer. He edited many classic texts for the newly founded Everyman’s Library, he wrote biographies, he produced stories for children under the name of Walter Copeland.

"Tradition in the nursery has acted as a severe editor." He had five daughters (m. Clara Armstrong Bridgman 1895), and one, Ianthe Jerrold (1898–1977) wrote fiction.

Biographies (Lamb 1905),
Children's books (Big Book of Fables 1987),
Classic texts for Everyman's Library,
Travel books for Blackie & Son "Beautiful England" series (Hampton Court 1916)

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful read and stroll down Memory Lane. Essential reading for all, especially children who have not yet been exposed to these both educational and entertaining little stories. They are the perfect size to keep a young child's attention and can start some interesting discussion about important topics. There were a few here that I wanted to copy and send to the current batch of politicians. They apparently have not learned the lessons in this volume yet.

Highly recommended. These may seem like simple stories, but they are more than that. The morals are important for children, and adults, to learn and remember how to be decent human beings and how to recognize and protect oneself from those who are not decent human beings.

Also, fun to see where some of the sayings I am used to come from. Also fun, I used the term "Sour grapes" the other day and then read the fable from which it came. I knew it came from that story, but it made me think, both I and the person with whom I used that term knew what was meant by "sour grapes", but without that background knowledge, they would have looked at me like I made no sense. Which I guess I wouldn't have, to them.

For me, this is a 5 star book. It is easier to learn a lesson from a cute little story than to be lectured at and these morals do stand the test of time, IMHO. Definitely worth a read and re-read, by those of all ages. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dover Publications Calla Editions for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

[degelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so metal. Like every other page it's describing animals being beaten, ripped apart, abused and- as always- horribly dying. Something this hopeless masquerading as children's entertainment paved the way for the dystopian misadventures of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Here are descriptions of some of the illustrations in this treasure trove of stories for kids (not pictured here due to formatting issues):

1) A woman disemboweling a chicken because she thinks there's gold inside of it.
2) A bear screaming while it gets stung to death by bees.
3) A cat watching a fox getting torn apart by dogs from the safety of a tree.
4) An ass drowning in a river because someone made him carry a huge parcel of sponges through it.
5) A frog puffing up and making himself explode for questionable reasons.

There are plenty of others featuring animals eating or attacking other animals. And another thing, this book HATES asses. Like any time an ass (donkey, mule, what have you) shows up something absolutely terrible and heartbreaking happens to them, usually through no choice of their own. The overall moral of most of these tales is no matter what you do you are 100% wrong, you're awful and/or you're fucked.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful reprint edition of a 1912 publication. It's a collection of about 150 fables from Aesop on, retold through prose and/or verse. Each fable is accompanied by at least one illustration, almost always wonderfully evocative of a different time and world -- that of talking animals and chatty trees. Although the morals attached to each entry are applicable to anyone at any age, and the illustrations can be enjoyed by everyone, the book as a whole is best suited for an adult reader. Jerrold's language retains much of the style of the Victorian era. It's often flowery, frequently stilted, and at times obscure, and references assume a knowledge (and a vocabulary) that children simply won't have. For instance, in "The Two Statues", one of my favorites here, the editor refers to "the two Phidiases". Those who recall their history of ancient Greece will understand; those who don't, won't. Elsewhere, words like "gambolling", "tillage", "horse-mill", "jade" -- meaning "horse" -- and a slew of mythological names will baffle young minds. Nevertheless, the book is a treasure of fables, and hearing so many familiar ones recited in a more mature voice lends them a dignity that maybe the originals, for all their clarity, lacked.

Dover's re-publications never fail to resurrect a book that oughtn't be forgotten. This is one of them, and is a high-water mark for this press.


* Disclosure of Material Connection: I would like to thank Netgalley and Dover Publications for providing me with a time-limited PDF of The Big Book of Fables in exchange for an honest review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[January Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and so did my children! This would make a great Christmas gift for your children and even adults! All of this in one book! Wonderful!

[Anne Patkau · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We yawn at sermons, but we gladly turn
To moral tales, and so amused we learn" - La Fontaine

150 morals and humor, archaic phrasing, many in rhyme.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... From thousands of years ago (slave) Aesop, 7-8 centuries after death written down by Babrius "supposed" Roman living in East. Many are translated from French, Jean de La Fontaine, "man of letters" 1821-1695 published 1668. Also The Raven from William Cowper, The Mountain and the Squirrel by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and more recent writers. 24 colored plates, 82 black and white. http://annetoronto1.blogspot.ca/2013/... Images include "From the frypan into the fire" saying.

The ship's master from four drowned generations questions the merchant whose ancestors died in bed "why should I be any more afraid of going to sea than you are of going to bed?"
Moral Do not judge the feelings of others by your own. p 158.
An oak upbraids a willow for wavering weakness, but is taken down by the next violent storm.
Moral A wise and steady man bends only with the prospect of rising again.