Aesop's Fables > Books of Fables > Series Books > Magic Wagon Short Tales

Magic Wagon Short Tales

2010 The Ants and the Grasshopper. Adapted by Rob M. Worley. Illustrated by Mark Bloodworth. Hardbound. Edina, MN: Short Tales: Magic Wagon. $11.35 from LukBooks, Lambertville, MI, Feb., '11.

This is a 32-page adaptation of GA. That this is a creative adaptation of the fable is clear, if not sooner, on 4-5, where the ants above ground wear hard-hats and ants working under the earth wear miners' helmets with lights on them. The grasshopper is marked as frivolous from his first words: "Gangway! I'm practicing backflips." Apparently, his backflips tear up their carefully written diagrams and plans. When the ants build a hill on a rainy summer day, one of them holds an umbrella! The grasshopper -- also holding an umbrella -- dances around their anthill. This text uses a red fall day to contrast the ants carrying food home with the grasshopper playing his fiddle. Colors switch again to white for a winter day when the grasshopper has to ask the ants if he can share their home. Ants ask the usual questions -- "What were you doing all spring? All summer? All fall?" but these ants wear knit woolen caps and hold snow-shovels! Their surprising next statement is "To stay warm, you'll have to spend all winter playing!" In this picture, they are singing, playing a violin, and shoveling snow. Moral: "It is best to prepare for the days of necessity." What actually happens to the grasshopper is left undisclosed here. I like the style of these adaptations. I was inspired when I found The Fox and the Grapes in this series and immediately found and ordered the rest.

2010 The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Adapted by Rob M. Worley. Illustrated by Will Meugniot. Hardbound. Edina, MN: Short Tales: Magic Wagon. $11.36 from LukBooks, Lambertville, MI, Feb., '11.

This is a 32-page adaptation of BW. Will Meugniot is, if anything, more expressive than the others working in this series. Typical of him are the huge number of sheep on 4-5 and the facial experssions of those sheep who are close. This boy is laughing from the start over the concern of the townsfolk who rush to help him. He tries the same trick the next day. In a reflective move I have not seen before, this text then has the people proclaim "He would not try to trick us twice." The boy says "You are so foolish to be tricked again." Meugniot's cast of characters hearing this statement on 16-17 needs to be seen! The very next day "a wolf sprang out of the woods." In this version, the flock finally reaches town, and the boy asks why no one has helped. This version keeps close tally of numbers, and so the people respond "Because you lied to us twice before." The visual work here verges on comics' art. I like the style of these adaptations. I was inspired when I found The Fox and the Grapes in this series and immediately found and ordered the rest.

2010 The Fox and the Grapes. Adapted by Christopher E. Long. Illustrated by John Cboins. Hardbound. Edina, MN: Short Tales: Magic Wagon. $5.99 from ShopTony's, Cartersville, GA, through eBay, Jan., '11.

This is a 32-page adaptation of FG. Mother fox urges son to go get food, like his brother. Fox rather believes that someone will bring him something to eat. His mother cautions that "Nothing is sweeter than something you work to get" (12). Later that day he is alone, gets hungry, sees grapes, leaps for them, and cannot get them. "I bet those grapes are sour anyway," he says (30). "The moral of the story is: It's easy to despise what you cannot have" (32). The art is a bit quirky. I found that there are five others in the series, and I just ordered them.

2010 The Lion and the Mouse. Adapted by Shannon Eric Denton. Illustrated by Mike Dubisch. Hardbound. Edina, MN: Short Tales: Magic Wagon. $11.36 from LukBooks, Lambertville, MI, Feb., '11.

This is a 32-page adaptation of LM. This version is unusual in that the bored mouse sees the sleeping lion. In many versions he has no idea that he is running over a lion. "The mouse decided it would be fun to surf down the lion." This element is new! "I'll do anything to pay you back," the mouse cries. "The lion finds the mouse's begging funny." The lion is caught that very afternoon in a hunter's net. Moral: "Little friends may prove to be great friends." I like the style of these adaptations. I was inspired when I found The Fox and the Grapes in this series and immediately found and ordered the rest.

2010 The Tortoise and the Hare. Adapted by Shannon Eric Denton. Illustrated by Mark Pennington. Hardbound. Edina, MN: Short Tales: Magic Wagon. $11.75 from LukBooks, Lambertville, MI, Feb., '11.

This is a 32-page adaptation of TH. The hare here is rather human and certainly aggressive. "You're the slowest thing I've ever seen!" he says to the tortoise. "You shouldn't make fun of me," the tortoise responds. When the tortoise asks "Do you want to race?" the hare cannot stop laughing, as is shown by four different views of him laughing (18-19). "The hare grew tired and decided to take a nap" (27). This is a significant decision on the part of the text-maker. Often he falls into sleep rather than deciding to sleep. The final picture of this version has the two contestants shaking hands. Their moral is "Slow and steady wins the race!" I like the style of these adaptations. I was inspired when I found The Fox and the Grapes in this series and immediately found and ordered the rest.

2010 The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Adapted by Christopher E. Long. Illustrated by Mark Bloodworth. Hardbound. Edina, MN: Short Tales: Magic Wagon. $12.89 from Paperbackshop, Elk Grove Village, IL, through Amazon.com, Feb., '11.

This is a 32-page adaptation of TMCM. The title on the book's cover spells the last two words with crooked boards to suggest the difference between country and town life. So does their clothing, starting on the cover. Further, the town mouse is brown, and the country mouse gray. In the country, the two sit on thimbles and eat off the top of an overturned Earl Grey tea box. What is left on the table in town are remnants of dessert. In rush two dogs. Once in the clear, the country mouse is on his way. "Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes in fear." The announced moral is "Better a little in safety, than much surrounded by danger." I like the style of these adaptations. I was inspired when I found The Fox and the Grapes in this series and immediately found and ordered the rest.