A review by hmoog
Fables by Arnold Lobel

5.0

Fables by Arnold Lobel was originally published in 1980, in 1981 it won the Caldecott medal for illustration. Its intended audience is children four to eight years old. The book contains twenty fables and twenty illustrations to go with them. I really enjoyed this collection of fables because it included a variety of fables, some that felt more classic and like fables I grew up reading, like “The Ducks and the Fox”, and some that are very imaginative and different like, “The Crocodile in the Bedroom” and “The Bad Kangaroo”. I think this collection does a really good job of having a mix of fables that are silly and engaging while also having ones with more applicable morals. Additionally, the illustrations are all really beautiful and are really good at conveying the tone of each story, whether they’re silly or heartfelt. I really like how even though all the illustrations are the same format throughout the book, Lobel does a really good job of sometimes allowing the illustrations to break the frame so that each composition still feels fresh and engaging even though they’re all the same dimension and format throughout the book. I would highly recommend this collection of fables to any child.