The Aesop For Children

by Aesop, Milo Winter (Illustrator)

Classis Aesops fables for children

Genres: Classics, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Literature, Fables, Short Stories

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

620 BC - 564 BC
Tradition considers Greek fabulist Aesop as the author of Aesop's Fables , including "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Fox and the Grapes."

This credited ancient man told numerous now collectively known stories. None of his writings, if they ever existed, survive; despite his uncertain existence, people gathered and credited numerous tales across the centuries in many languages in a storytelling tradition that continues to this day. Generally human characteristics of animals and inanimate objects that speak and solve problems characterize many of the tales.

One can find scattered details of his life in ancient sources, including Aristotle, Herodotus, and Plutarch. An ancient literary work, called The Aesop Romance tells an episodic, probably highly fictional version of his life, including the traditional description of him as a strikingly ugly slave (δοῦλος), whose cleverness acquires him freedom as an adviser to kings and city-states. Older spellings of his name included Esop(e) and Isope. A later tradition, dating from the Middle Ages, depicts Aesop as a black Ethiopian. Depictions of Aesop in popular culture over the last two and a half millennia included several works of art and his appearance as a character in numerous books, films, plays, and television programs.

Abandoning the perennial image of Aesop as an ugly slave, the movie Night in Paradise (1946) cast Turhan Bey in the role, depicting Aesop as an advisor to Croesus, king; Aesop falls in love with a Persian princess, the intended bride of the king, whom Merle Oberon plays. Lamont Johnson also plays Aesop the Helene Hanff teleplay Aesop and Rhodope (1953), broadcast on hallmark hall of fame.

Brazilian dramatist Guilherme Figueiredo published A raposa e as uvas ("The Fox and the Grapes"), a play in three acts about the life of Aesop, in 1953; in many countries, people performed this play, including a videotaped production in China in 2000 under the title Hu li yu pu tao or 狐狸与葡萄 .

Beginning in 1959, animated shorts under the title Aesop and Son recurred as a segment in the television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, its successor. People abandoned the image of Aesop as ugly slave; Charles Ruggles voiced Aesop, a Greek citizen, who recounted for the edification of his son, Aesop Jr., who then delivered the moral in the form of an atrocious pun. In 1998, Robert Keeshan voiced him, who amounted to little more than a cameo in the episode "Hercules and the Kids" in the animated television series Hercules.

In 1971, Bill Cosby played him in the television production Aesop's Fables.

British playwright Peter Terson first produced the musical Aesop's Fables in 1983. In 2010, Mhlekahi Mosiea as Aesop staged the play at the Fugard theatre in Cape Town, South Africa.

Reviews

[Robin Hobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aesop's Fables should be a part of every child's cultural education. It isn't just that the simple stories each convey a 'moral' or lesson. It's that throughout the reader's life, one will encounter references to these stories.

"Don't be a dog in the manger." "Sour grapes!" "He took the lion's share." "She's blowing hot and cold on this topic." "He's a wolf in sheep's clothing."

If you get the full nuances of any of those, chances are you were exposed to Aesop's Fables. And if you don't, it's never too late to enjoy them.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Aesop's fables are the familiar tales for children (and adults) that illustrate important ideas and morals. Some of these tales are pretty funny in the way they illuminate great tips of wisdom for life. It's amazing how long these fables have endured, in numerous translations and versions.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my Aesop project, I recently picked up a copy of Milo Winter's classic collection, originally published in 1919. With 146 fables, and at least one color illustration per page, The Aesop for Children has long been the edition against which all others are judged. Part of the so-called "golden age" of children's illustration, Winter worked on many children's classics in the early years of the twentieth century, but it is primarily this book for which he is remembered.

The reader will encounter many old favorites here, from The Fox and the Grapes to The Hare and the Tortoise, as well as many less well-known selections. The language is charming and old-fashioned, although the effect can be disconcerting. Winter seems inordinately fond of the adjective "miry" - I lost count of the number of "miry roads" encountered in his text - and uses "ass" (meaning donkey) frequently. His moral interpretation of the fables can also feel somewhat heavy-handed and dated.

However that may be, the fables themselves are as entertaining as ever, and Winter's illustrations are the ideal complement for them. His animal depictions are simply marvelous - simultaneously realistic and emotionally expressive.

[Amy Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful read-aloud version for children, or perfect for grades 2-5 elementary for homeschool lit. The illustrations are beautifully done.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do I love thee, Milo Winter? Let me count the ways.

1. The illustrations are fantastic. Almost every fable has a picture be it small or large enough to fill the page.

2. Excellent retelling of the fables. Not dumbed down in any way. The language is fairly challenging, but my 5 and 6 year olds understood it without difficulty. I did edit the word "a*s" and said donkey. While I have no problem with the word used in this context it just wasn't a word I wanted them repeating over and over again. At the beginning of the book I explained that "a*s" meant donkey, but that a lot of people used it as a bad word now and they were totally fine with it.

3. They BEGGED me to read it every day. We read 2 pages a day and loved every minute of it.

4. When we finished they wanted to start over again.

5. They loved it so much they wanted to buy it for all their cousins for Christmas.

I looked through several different books of Aesop's Fables and I liked this one the best.

Well worth your time to read these with your children. I'm looking forward to reading it with the last two kids.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading Aesop books as a child and remember being mesmerized by the stories and illustration's.

I purchased The Aesop for Children for my son. I will be passing this book down to my son so he can read this book to his children.

Elise Vaughn
Capricorn Book Reviews 🐐 📚

[Rubina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never ever read such badly written stories. Before a child can even understand the meaning of the story, a moral line is inserted. The punishment meted out for doing simple wrong things like talking out of turn etc - is death. For god's sake, how am I supposed to teach my child that death is not an answer for doing all wrong things in life? Definitely not for talking out of turn. Nope I am sticking to Hardy Boys with my boy.

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so clever and so rich. The life lessons taught in these short stories are GOLD.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use Charlotte Mason's narration method in our homeschool.
Aesop consistently trains narrations (therefore attention span) in each of my children.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated collection full of pocket-sized fables great for narration practice. Some fables have such great morals that we refer to them over and over again as a family. Some are way over my kids' heads at the ages Ambleside recommends them for. I've read this twice now, once with my older two girls and just now with my current kindergartner. Overall, with one fable a day, we start out strong, loving it, and end limping and tired, excited to finish so we can finally move on to something else.

[A. Mickey Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice art, good stories. I liked it.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

We own a few different versions of this, ranging from easy picture books to the full compendium and have read many or most of these stories several times over this year!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have a well-loved hard back in this edition. I may need another soon based on the wear and tear it's gone through.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic stories with moral

[Megan Brumley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun reading these out loud to my 1st grader.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of Aesop's fables suitable for reading to yourself or out loud. There's really not much else to say about this book, honestly.

[Margaret Chind]

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I also now have a jacket-less hardcover that is beautiful from Dalmation Press. When I search the ISBN it comes up with a Mother Goose, so that is odd. I guess they reused it? This version that I have added has a fairy, a rose and some other animals on top, but it is also illustrated by Milo Winter. I'll try to remember to take a photo to upload, as I couldn't find one online when I searched.

Newly added App from LOC with interactive features.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a classic collection of popular Aesop's Fables. Each fable has a moral at the end, which is a great starting point for discussion. This edition is beautifully illustrated by Milo Winter. Recommended for family reading time with children of all ages.

[Annaleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations in this book. My daughter used this book to learn how to narrate. My only problem is the given moral at the end. I usually just skipped it and allowed my child to make the connection herself.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seriousy question the "interpretation" of the morals of some of the fables as presented in this book.

[Adri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The aesop for children is by Milo Winter. This book is full of many stories that teach important lessons. My favorite Fable was the Milkmaid and Her Pail. It tells of a milkmaid that is carrying a milk pail on her head. As she is walking back from the field where she milked her cows, her mind is filled with thoughts of how she will be able to make a lot of butter that she is planning to take to the market and afterward buy some eggs and when the eggs have hatched and the chickens have grown she will sell them and buy a new dress and all the boys will love her. Soon after she thinks about it the pail falls from her head and spills all over the ground and all her pride is gone. the moral/theme of the story is don't count your chickens before they are hatched, just like she did in the storie where she planned so far ahead when she wasn't even sure that all the parts in her plan would work. Sometimes when you plan so far ahead you forget to focus on little details that matter a lot like when she didn't think about being careful and balancing the bucket. I like this story because it makes me think of the times when I have planned out something in the future and I didn't focus on the things I needed to do in the moment to accomplish that. The Fable I liked the least was called The Monkey and the Dolphin. In the story there is a Greek ship sailing toward Athens but before they reach the shore the ship was wrecked and the very friendly dolphins took the people on their backs to the shore. One of the dolphins sees a monkey, one of the pets that they took along and mistaking it for a human helps the monkey onto his back soon the dolphin realizes that he is carrying a monkey on his back after the monkey says some ridiculious lies that obviously proves that he can't be human to him and he gets the monkey off his back and swims back to sees some people that he can save. The moral/theme of the story is one falsehood leads to another. In the story, the monkey has to keep making up lies to cover up for other lies.I don't really like this story because I don't see why the dolphin didn't just give the monkey a ride all the way to the shore or had him ride with another human. Overall, I think that it was fun to read this book and liked the stories it told. I would recommend this to people who like good moral to stories or feel like you should get the consiquence that you deserve and like ending like that in stories. If you like long stories that end happy even if some of the characters get a conseguence that you feel they don't deserve then this book might not be for you.

[Steven A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably some of the earliest short stories collected and currently read (from 620 – 564 BCE). While Aesop's Fables are credited to Aesop, no actual writings of Aesop have ever been found. Rather, like most other early short story collections, they were collected and compiled from stories told through the ages. This has led some to believe that Aesop never actually existed, but is rather a fictional character of ancient Greek lore. However some ancient Greek philosophers including Aristotle, Aristophanes, Sophocles, and Socrates made reference to him in some of their works.

Scholars are still divided on who Aesop was and his origin. It is generally thought that he was a Greek slave, while others contend that he was a black man from Ethiopia - using many of his tales of a great variety of African animals and an African story telling style as evidence. My opinion leans more toward the Greek slave origin because many of his tales also refer to several Greek gods (Jupiter, Mercury, Hercules, and others), which I don’t suppose a traveling Ethiopian would be so familiar with.

Aesop’s Fables use, primarily, a variety of animals and some plants or inanimate objects as symbols for both wise and foolish behaviors that relate quite directly to men and women. These stories are usually very short, simple, and thought provoking; still applicable today as they were in ancient times. I love Aesop’s Fables and the kind of thinking they lead us to.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This is a good book of little proverbs that are funny, true, & interesting. There are references to Greek gods but they don’t show up very much, and there’s only a couple proverbs I don’t quite agree with. Otherwise, it’s a good read for children. :)

A Favourite Quote: “And so they died, giving their lives for the sake of a taste of sweetness. Be not greedy for a little passing pleasure. It may destroy you.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “A little Mole once said to his Mother: ‘Why, Mother, you said I was blind! But I am sure I can see!’
“Mother Mole saw she would have to get such conceit out of his head. So she put a bit of frankincense before him and asked him to tell what it was. The little Mole peered at it.
“‘Why, that's a pebble!’
“‘Well, my son, that proves you've lost your sense of smell as well as being blind.’”

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps a biased review, since as a child I absolutely loved reading old fables and fairytales out of think books. Aesop’s fables remind me just of that, with small art accompanying every story and a summarizing quote at the end, I feel that this story is a perfect match for young readers who are also interested in fables and fairytales. Though, it’s important to note that it’s not without slightly aged with a few words of dialogue with different intended meaning than what’s modern. But that is the consequence of fables written back in 550ish BC.

I would recommend this book for any student who has trouble focusing reading (short fables they can read through and then put down are easy to digest). I’d also recommend it for any who like fairy tales (like the tortoise and the hare) and take interest in quotes and life advice (ex. You are judged by the company you keep).

[Dogeared Wanderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of over 130 of Aesop's fables, including familiar ones such as The Tortoise and the Hare, The Country Mouse and the City Mouse, and The Fox and the Grapes. It also includes many unfamiliar fables but with the same great moral at the end. The fables range from wise/foolish contrasts to simple observations of rich/poor, strong/weak, etc.

The book is beautifully illustrated in drawings and paintings reminiscent of the Middle Ages and ancient Greece. Many of the fables are about the same types of animals that represent characters that children can relate to, such as lion, donkey (referred to as "ass" throughout), fox, wolf, sheep, cock, dog, cat, mouse, dove, etc.

All of the fables are short; most of them take up less than a page. This is a great resource for teachers and home educators.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My children really enjoyed reading and discussing The Aesop for Children. Many of the stories are familiar in some form or fashion, so hearing them again and discussing the moral or lesson and how it applies was really great for character development, especially as we compared them to Proverbs or other Scripture verses that backed up the point being made. There were even a couple of stories that we said, "Wait, what?" and realized the point was worldly wisdom and not Godly, like "The Lark and Her Young Ones." This copy of these fables also had beautiful drawings that enhanced the stories which the children enjoyed looking at as we read. On the whole, the family enjoyed reading this book together.

4.5 stars for this version of these tales.

[Aimee Fuhrman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to being culturally literate, one cannot deny a child needs at least a passing knowledge of Aesop and his famous fables. An intimate familiarity with some of his more famous fables (such as The Tortoise and the Hare, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, and The Lion and the Mouse) is also advisable. This volume makes educating your child easy! The number of fables is extensive--all the famous ones, plus many you've never heard before. Each is written in Aesop's, nothing flowery or elaborate, just succinct stories that get straight to the point--the moral of each tale. The illustrations in this volume make listening to the fables more enjoyable for small children.

[Adayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to the kids this school year. One of the easiest books the kids narrated. We only read a few pages a week but the kids would always beg me to read one more. Very good stories that sink in.

I will admit that I didn't read aloud some of the old fashioned languange (for names of animals). I've always been hoping to find a version that uses modern language for just these few words but keeps the good writing for everything else. Just a personal opinion.. my kids latch on to words and I just don't want to deal with them using these in conversations, to be honest.

But this Milo Winters book still is the best Aesop version I've come across so far.

[Amanda Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another read aloud with my 2 older kids. They did the reading and I listened.
This is a great compilation of Aesop’s fables. Many stories included that my kids recognized right away, but for the most part ones that we had never heard before. I like how they are kept very simple and short and include a one line “moral of the story” at the end. These helped generate a lot of discussion between my kids and I, not just about the story, but how it would apply to their own lives. Illustrations are also great!

[Nino Sforza-Polo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Comfortable Read - Sharing Life's Lessons and Helps You To go Sleep

I heard about these fables as a youngster but not all of them. Those fables that I was familiar with were charming and delightful. And, I was always curious about those fables that I missed. So, later in life I combined my wish to read something that needed completion, something light, something engaging, and something that might help me to go sleep. I was correct on all counts. I think you'll find the same.