The Rabbit and the Turtle

Aesop's fables have been around for centuries, and most readers have heard various versions of them all, especially the one about the turtle racing the hare. By choosing it as the title of his book, and changing it to THE RABBIT AND THE TURTLE, Eric Carle welcomes the reader into his collection and gives it a comfortably modern tone that echoes throughout the book, not only in the storytelling but in the vivid tissue paper collages that fill the pages.

As in the original version, each story is told in a single page, with a moral tagging along at the end. The language is the language of a storyteller, sophisticated enough to be dramatic and charming, yet easy enough to keep any reader interested. Bright colors and cleverly detailed collages bring the fables alive, and anyone familiar with the work of Eric Carle will recognize his artwork at once. With his signature cut-and-layered hand-painted tissue paper, he has created colorfully intriguing scenes that fill the page opposite each story, capturing the essence of the fable. Each one is a joy to look at as the listener lets the lesson of each tale sink in.