Books with title Aesops Fables for Children

Aesop (c620-c560), known only for the genre of fables ascribed to him, was by tradition a slave who was a contemporary of Croesus and Peisistratus in the mid-sixth century BC in ancient Greece. The various collections that go under the rubric Aesop's Fables are still taught as moral lessons and used as subjects for various entertainments, especially children's plays and cartoons. Most of what are known as Aesopic fables is a compilation of tales from various sources, many of which originated with authors who lived long before Aesop. Aesop himself is said to have composed many fables, which were passed down by oral tradition. Socrates was thought to have spent his time turning Aesop's fables into verse while he was in prison. Demetrius Phalereus, another Greek philosopher, made the first collection of these fables around 300 BC. This was later translated into Latin by Phaedrus, a slave himself, around 25 BC. The fables from these two collections were soon brought together and were eventually retranslated into Greek by Babrius around A. D. 230. Many additional fables were included, and the collection was in turn translated to Arabic and Hebrew, further enriched by additional fables from these cultures.

Rare edition with unique illustrations and elegant classic cream paper. According to Herodotus, Aesop was a slave who lived in Samos in the 6th century B.C. His moral animal fables have delighted young and old for centuries. This fabulous full-color edition of the classic Aesop features the original illustrations of Milo Winter. This unique collection features 126 of the best-loved fables, including such favorites as “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse”, “The Ants and the Grasshopper”, “The Goose and the Golden Egg”, “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” and “The Hare and the Tortoise” and all their wonderful and amusing animal characters. Now, with The Aesop for Children, a whole new generation can appreciate and enjoy these whimsical tales. Includes unique illustrations.

It’s not easy trying to expand on the fables of Aesop, for their charm, wisdom, and characters transcend time, and speak to us as clearly as they did so long ago. It was, no doubt, because of Aesop’s hard background that he was able to see the ‘lessons’ of life that so many others miss. Aesop wrote his fables to provide instruction and guidance for all mankind; likewise, these fables were written for the same purpose, particularly as people today are growing up without a moral compass to guide them through complex social issues. As many of the characters in these fables represent common hopes, ideals, goals and shortcomings that shape society today, it is my hope that people, young and old, can learn and discuss the benefits of virtues, and the consequences of vices, so that they can develop the insight to more effectively shape their own lives and society in a more meaningful way.The original books on which this one was based, "New Aesop Fables" and "Giga: New Aesopian Fables", which were published in 2005 through Lulu Press, and many of my students and friends helped to bring these books into being. I am also greatly indebted to my editor Alause Krause, whose feedback and impeccable editing and proofing skills made this second volume possible.

There was once a little Kid whose growing horns made him think he was a grown-up Billy Goat and able to take care of himself. So one evening when the flock started home from the pasture and his mother called, the Kid paid no heed and kept right on nibbling the tender grass. A little later when he lifted his head, the flock was gone. He was all alone. The sun was sinking. Long shadows came creeping over the ground.

Print version contains large font, suitable for young readers! Enjoy! Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BC. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media. The fables originally belonged to the oral tradition and were not collected for some three centuries after Aesop's death. By that time a variety of other stories, jokes and proverbs were being ascribed to him, although some of that material was from sources earlier than him or came from beyond the Greek cultural sphere. The process of inclusion has continued until the present, with some of the fables unrecorded before the later Middle Ages and others arriving from outside Europe. The process is continuous and new stories are still being added to the Aesop corpus, even when they are demonstrably more recent work and sometimes from known authors. Manuscripts in Latin and Greek were important avenues of transmission, although poetical treatments in European vernaculars eventually formed another. On the arrival of printing, collections of Aesop's fables were among the earliest books in a variety of languages. Through the means of later collections, and translations or adaptations of them, Aesop's reputation as a fabulist was transmitted throughout the world. Initially the fables were addressed to adults and covered religious, social and political themes. They were also put to use as ethical guides and from the Renaissance onwards were particularly used for the education of children. Their ethical dimension was reinforced in the adult world through depiction in sculpture, painting and other illustrative means, as well as adaptation to drama and song. In addition, there have been reinterpretations of the meaning of fables and changes in emphasis over time.