Throwback Thursday

It doesn't get more Throwback than our old pal Aesop.  I know most of you have heard of Aesop's fables but what do you really know about Aesop?  Before I share with you my book today I want to give you a few tidbits of information about Aesop so next time someone tells you one of his fables, you can say-

Did you know...
1) Aesop was a slave who lived in Ancient Greece.
2) His stories have been passed down through many forms of media including the written word, artwork and the most common, word of mouth.
3) Socrates passed his time in jail reciting Aesop's Fables.
4) There is now way to really tell is Aesop was a real person.
5) Many tales that had no literary source were credited to Aesop.

Now onto the book that I want to share with you.  Jerry Pinkney, a Caldecott illustrator of The Lion and The Mouse, has now illustrated a version of The Tortoise and The Hare.

 His version of the fable is mostly told in stunning pictures and he uses very few words.  I like that the words are few and far between so that young children can examine the picture and grasp meaning from them, essentially telling their own fable.  By looking at the picture you can see the difficult time that the tortoise is having and how easy the race is for the rabbit.  Just like in the original tale the rabbit stops (Pinkey has him stopping to gobble up lettuce before he takes his nap) and the turtle is able to pass him to win the race.

Pinkney cleverly chooses his words.  He slowly sprinkles the lesson of the fable onto the pages of the book.  He starts with the word slow and then every few pages adds another word until the phrase reads, "Slow and steady wins the race."  It is such a simple yet effective way to get the message across.

What is your favorite Aesop fable to share with others?

Happy Reading!
Laura