TOLD AND RETOLD: AROUND THE WORLD WITH AESOP'S FABLES

Narrator Kathleen Gati brings her lilting vocal style to these retellings of Aesop's fables. An introduction provides remarks on the tales' history and transmission, and each individual story is located geographically--East Africa for "The Lion and the Mouse" and northern Asia for "The Wolf and the Crane," for example. Sadly, there is no contextualizing information about how these tales were influenced by the cultures they encountered. The actual stories are lively and pleasant; rather than concluding with a moral, each is punctuated with a question that asks listeners to predict a character's actions. These moments Gati articulates with gentle emphasis, inviting children into each brief tale. Listeners who follow along with the book will enjoy the lovely wordless illustrations that provide space to ponder. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2022]