McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables »

Michael Morpurgo is the children's laureate of Britain. He has written over ninety-five books and won numerous awards, including the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Prize, and the Children's Book Award. Michael and his wife, Clare, run their own charity, Farms for City Children, from their farm in Devon, England.

Emma Chichester Clark is the award-winning illustrator of more than forty collections and picture books, including Michael Morpurgo's The McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables. She is also the author and illustrator of Follow the Leader! She lives in London, England.

Ancient Aesop swings into the twenty-first century in this bright new collection of twenty-one favorite fables. Here are all the classic tales: 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.

Joella Peterson - Children's Literature

Morpurgo begins this beautiful collection of fables with a fable—of a lion that reads stories and then eats his sleeping listeners. The moral of this first fable is "A story is as good as a feast. But watch out and make sure you don't go to sleep!" All of the fables tell easy-to-understand stories. The moral, in large print at the end of the fable, leaves readers with no doubt as to what the fable is teaching. The easy comprehension along with the multiple fables make this book ideal for reading aloud—especially for children who have attention spans that will only last for one fable at a time. Clark's illustrations beautifully match the fables. Each page has at least a small watercolor illustration while a plethora of full page illustrations are scattered throughout the fables. This is a great collection of fables that will truly be a "feast" for Aesop fans. This book was published in Great Britain as The Orchard Book of Aesop's Fables. 2004 (orig. 2004), Margaret K McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, Ages 4 to 8.