The Ant and the Grasshopper retold by Rebecca and Ed Emberley

There are many versions of this famous fable. In some the ant is the hero - rewarded for his hard work preparing for winter. In other versions the ant is seen as selfish and mean when he refuses to help the grasshopper now that winter has arrived. In this version there is a beautiful compromise. The ant has been busy collecting food for his colony. He has stopped to listen to the beautiful music which is being played by the grasshopper and his band. The ant tells the grasshopper how the music has lifted his heart and so the grasshopper suggests the band could hit the road and walk back to the colony. "The ant was home in no time, hardly noticing the heat or the heaviness of her load. ... "How can I ever repay you?"  The solution - sharing the ant's cool underground home - let the good times roll!

This book epitomizes why I adore children's books especially picture books. Huge thanks go to my friend who loaned me this book from her brilliant library. Take a look at her Aesop Pinterest.  I almost need to quote every line of text to show you the lyricism of the language, the richness of the vocabulary and the carefully crafted word placement.

Here are some text examples:

"Somewhere on the boulevard of backyards an ant was struggling with the remnants of a picnic."

Have you noticed all the delicious words here - boulevard, remnants, picnic!
Have you notice the alliteration - boulevard of backyards.

"The work was hard and she was weary. With a heavy sigh, she persevered, though each blade of grass seemed to thwart her on this hot and humid day."

You need to see the illustration to discover what the ant has found left over from the picnic - a huge slice of watermelon.
Once again we have some truly delicious words - weary, persevered, thwart
And alliteration - hot and humid

Here is the web site for Rebecca Emberley and a video showing her father Ed Emberley creating his work.

I would pair this fable with these:

I would love to find the version by Janosch - The Fiddle Cricket and the Mole.  Here is the cricket playing his music:

Here are two other Aesop fables by Rebecca and Ed:

In my very first school library (Finley Public School) the Kindergarten teacher loved to use a book illustrated by Ed Emberley - Drummer Hoff (1967) and yes it is still in print. Ed Emberley's first book was The Wing on a Flea (1961).