Aesop's Fables > Books of Fables > Series Books > L.K. Aesop's Story Korean

L.K. Aesop's Story Korean

 

 

See also the CD-Rom versions in English and Korean of these seven stories.

2003 Aesop's Story: The Frog and the Ox. Mary Drake. Jeon Byung Joon and Won Yoo Hee. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the first of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! The second thing is that the illustrations are lively. Here a male frog sees an ox and puffs himself up "as big as he could." He asks the other frogs whether he is yet larger than the ox. Both the eyes of the onlookers and the tummy of the frog get emphasis in the art here. "Do not attempt the impossible." What is that frog doing on the back cover singing into the microphone?

2003 Aesop's Story: The Crow and the Fox. Mary Drake. Yang Hae Won and Won Yoo Hee. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the second of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! The second thing is that the illustrations are wonderfully satirical. Both the proud crow and the sly fox have wonderful facial expressions! I am not surprised that these illustrations were chosen as the cover art for the accompanying CD. The story's end is "The silly crow was very upset." "Do not trust flatterers."

2003 Aesop's Story: The City Mouse and the Country Mouse. Mary Drake. Jeon Byung Joon and Won Yoo Hee. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the third of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! The second thing is that the artist somehow separates their eyes from the heads of the two delightful mice. The same is true even of the ants! The effect is good! The cat is wonderfully presented as four paws, their claws, and their long shadows. "Home, sweet home." The back cover in delightful fashion forgets the final "e" in "Mouse" as the word bends around the end of a banana.

2003 Aesop's Story: The Hare and the Tortoise. Mary Drake. Jeon Byung Joon and Won Yoo Hee. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the fourth of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! The second thing is that this artist again, as elsewhere in this series, pictures the characters' eyes effectively. Here the hare decides to wait for the tortoise under a tree. Then he sits down to rest. Then he begins to fall asleep. "Slow and steady wins the race." The covers of this set of books, front and back, use lots of sparkly material. As far as I can tell, they use it well.

2003 Aesop's Story: The Lion and the Mouse. Mary Drake. Jeon Byung Joon and Won Yoo Hee. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the fifth of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! The second thing is that this artist again, as elsewhere in this series, pictures the characters' eyes effectively. Perhaps the best of the pictures here is the picture of the release at mid-book. Both characters are smiling. The facial expressions on the cover are strong, but what phase of the story is pictured here? Where, that is, would we have a jubilant scampering mouse in front of an angry lion? "Kindness is never wasted." (I doubt that Aesop would have agreed with that moral!) The covers of this set of books, front and back, use lots of sparkly material. As far as I can tell, they use it well.

2003 Aesop's Story: The Lion and the Boar. Mary Drake. Jeon Byung Joon. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the sixth of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! The second thing is the dramatic quality of the illustrations. The artist catches this fable's invitation to duality; the two animals are matched in one way after another. Though their bodies are different, their stance facing each other at the pool is similar. Someone viewing their grapple, repeated on the title-page, might have trouble distinguishing one fighter from the other. Perhaps the best illustration suddenly looks down from above on their surprised faces, just as the vultures do. This version may be rosier than most when the two agree "It would be better to remain friends than to become tasty food for vultures." I am not sure that they need to be friends in order to choose survival! "Fighting is a waste."

2003 Aesop's Story: The Cicada and the Ant. Mary Drake. Kim Tea Hwan and Won Yoo Hee. Boxed set of seven bilingual books and two CD's. Hardbound. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.

This is the seventh of seven strong books. The book is made to be read with the story -- English or Korean -- on the two accompanying CDs. The first thing one notices about these books is their stiff, strong pages. There are only fourteen pages in the book! Secondly, readers will note that this version has little of La Fontaine's emphasis. That is, the text pits the "diligent" ant against the "lazy" cicada. Thirdly, the art here is different from that in most of the books of this series. The characters, particularly the cicada, are suggested more than represented. The drummer under the leaves with his trumpet sitting nearby suggests the laziness of the story, but may be hard for viewers to recognize as a cicada. The centerpiece about singing in the shade has a dramatic head with mouth wide open, but again one might have to think a while to recognize what kind of creature this is. Traditional readers are in for a big surprise at the end of this story: "The Ant welcomed the Cicada, and gave her some food. The Cicada thanked the Ant for her kindness." Here the ant may look more like a little boy. "There's a time for work and a time for play."