3.84 AVERAGE

reflective

One of those books I figured I should get round to reading at some point. So many of the fables are so well-known - the fox and the grapes, the boy who cried wolf, the lion and the mouse, etc - that there isn't much of a wow factor when reading these tales as an adult. At most, one might go "I didn't know this was one of Aesop's fables". Still, it's an easy read for those short commutes.
informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: N/A
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
informative fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I liked this one better than "Grimm's Fairy Tales" because A) they're all super short, great for reading a teeny bit at a time and B) the language is much more understandable. But like "Grimm's Fairy Tales", the stories get repetitive after a while. They're all moral lessons, and they fall under three categories: evil is its own ruin, be honest and don't lie, don't be vain/greedy/prideful. Consequences of failing to heed lessons A, B, and C will result in you being eaten by a tiger 90% of the time.

This little collection, bringing together the complete collection of fables has sat in the bathroom for most of the last year. Short and sweet, they're quite different to the moralistic, sugary Victorian tainted fables I grew up with as a child (I've never heard of 'The Camel who shat in the river' before, for example).

The intro from Robert Temple sets the historical scene, detailing the little we know of Aesop and the development of the fables, merging with those of other storytellers and tales. The hints of where they may have originated and the unifying themes throughout make for an interesting puzzle. Still, this collection has a lot of wisdom, a lot of humour and paints a rich view of another world. As they say, it's almost to be used as a joke book. Perfect for dipping in and out and should be present on most good bookshelves.

Got the gist of the fables by the end, but it felt important to read.

I read most of these as a child, and I am in the process of reading them to my daughter now, out of the Children's Illustrated Library (I don't have this specific version, but I could not find that one to log.) I think it's important to read them as a matter of cultural literacy (to have the cultural vocabulary--slow and steady wins the race; sour grapes; etc.), but as stories in and of themselves, they aren't precisely mesmerizing. For a child, however, they are short and to the point, and they seem to hold my four year old's interest well enough.
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kristapeters's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 35%

Just didn’t want to. Kids seemed to like it but I was bored with so many short similar stories