Aesop's Fables
Translated by V.S. Vernon Jones
Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Published by Franklin Watts, Inc.
©1967
198 pages
Genre is Traditional Literature
When I asked my friend at the library to help me chose a book that dealt with traditional literature, her immediate response was Aesop's Fables. Traditional literature is typically handed down through oral tradition and has no known author. That is exactly what this book is. Aesop's Fables is a collection of 285 fables (although I could be off by a few, since there was no set number and I had to count and multiply!!!) that were originally published in 1912. The stories are accredited to Aesop, who was a slave in ancient Greece, and was thought to be a storyteller. Most of the characters in his fables are animals and he used personification to have the animals exhibit human emotions and speech while continuing to keep the real animal characteristics.
The illustrations in the copy of Aesop's Fables I have are few and far between. There are a few colorful illustrations throughout and there are more of the small sketches to go along with the small fables as well. Not every fable has a corresponding picture and most of the pictures are very simple but help add a visual aid to the story. The illustrator, Arthur Rackham, is largely known for his works during the 'Golden Age' of British book illustration. His techniques involve a robust pen and India ink drawings.
This book is appropriate for for middle grade students and up. This book could be used in the elementary classroom by having each student pick an entry they enjoy and draw an illustration to go along with that entry. The could create a comic strip to correspond with the fable they choose and then present them to the class and explain why they choose the fable and why they choose to illustrate it the way they did. Teaching with fables helps to build children's literacy, along with ethical and moral developments. Fable tend to have a moral attached that the students could grow from. Students can also use fables to work on their understanding of metaphors, which can sometimes be a tricky subject.
The illustrations in the copy of Aesop's Fables I have are few and far between. There are a few colorful illustrations throughout and there are more of the small sketches to go along with the small fables as well. Not every fable has a corresponding picture and most of the pictures are very simple but help add a visual aid to the story. The illustrator, Arthur Rackham, is largely known for his works during the 'Golden Age' of British book illustration. His techniques involve a robust pen and India ink drawings.
This book is appropriate for for middle grade students and up. This book could be used in the elementary classroom by having each student pick an entry they enjoy and draw an illustration to go along with that entry. The could create a comic strip to correspond with the fable they choose and then present them to the class and explain why they choose the fable and why they choose to illustrate it the way they did. Teaching with fables helps to build children's literacy, along with ethical and moral developments. Fable tend to have a moral attached that the students could grow from. Students can also use fables to work on their understanding of metaphors, which can sometimes be a tricky subject.
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