Aesop's fables Book

Aesop's Fables, retold in verse by Tom Paxton, is a 1988 publication of ten famous fables that are told to instruct readers and listeners about appropriate behavior and attitudes. The fables in Paxton's retelling feature mostly animal characters (foxes, lions, mice, a tortoise, a hare, a dog, a horse, a bear, ants, and a grasshopper), but there are three fables featuring human main characters (all men). The fact that these fables are told in verse makes this an excellent book to read aloud. A reader could have fun with lines like, "There once was a lucky man / Who lived in days of old. / The gods had blessed him with a goose / Whose eggs were purest gold." Readers (and listeners) in kindergarten through fifth grade will delight in these short stories in which characters get into surprising situations that will have readers laughing and thinking. This particular retelling of Aesop's fables features old-timey illustrations that give this book a nostalgic feel. The characters (even some animals) are dressed in clothes that are reminiscent of Shakespearean costumes. The animals are not portrayed as cute or cuddly like they are in many modern picture books. The animal faces have personality, but some could be described as ugly or scary. Robert Rayevsky uses pen and watercolor (I believe) to create a style of illustration with a classic, vintage feel. For an introduction to Aesop's Fables for a young reader or for a teacher doing a unit on fables and folk tales, you could do much worse than picking up "Aesop's Fables" as retold by Tom Paxton.