Aesop's Fables

Contrived 2,500 years ago by the Greek storyteller Aesop, these fables were only written down 300 years later. Jonathan Kent's reading revives the original oral tradition, and his voices for the animal characters make the little stories entertaining as well as enlightening. The variety of characters Kent creates will fascinate children, the better to impart the time-tested moral lessons still with us thousands of years later. The production squeezes 160 fables into 140 minutes, making each one last less than a minute. Adults will likely find the segments trivial, too brief, and lacking in continuity. Some of the vocabulary may seem challenging for young minds, but one can never predict what age level will listen and what they already know. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

September 1, 1988
These 10 fables are given a fresh treatment in rhyme, and a new look by Rayevsky. His foxes, bears, lions and other animals appear in medieval and Shakespearean capes, jerkins and plumed hats, all in deep reds, subtle browns and greens. The verses are not always successful, often indulging in inverted syntax to rhyme, and uneven metrics. But phrasing is often clever, and humor is everywhere. In true Aesopian fashion, the morals are soundly thumped at the end: mouse and lion awkwardly learn, ``Yes, sometimes the weak and sometimes the strong/ Must help each other to save right from wrong.'' The boy who cried wolf is more snappily told, ``Please learn your lesson/ Young man and beware:/ Never cry `Wolf!'/ When the wolf isn't there.'' Ages 4-7.

Anton Lesser translates five classic children's stories to audio. Highlighting the production are energetic classical music and animal sound effects. Regrettably, the music is overused and detracts from Lesser's dramatic reading. It confuses the listener, giving the false impression of a break or the beginning of a new story. Lesser tries to read with emphasis but is dominated by the music. The result is tepid, at best. An illustrated booklet is included. A.G.H. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine