Barbara McClintock fans will rejoice at finding this collection of nine fables attributed to that classic moralizer, Aesop. Illustrated in her own distinctive style, described on the dust-jacket as "nineteenth-century anthropomorphic," McClintock's Animal Fables from Aesop pairs each fable with charming full and half-page artwork. Colorful, detailed, and highly expressive, McClintock's pictures are a delightful accompaniment to some of Aesop's most popular tales. Here the reader will encounter:

The Fox and the Crow, in which a clever fox tricks a foolish crow into dropping her piece of cheese...

The Fox and the Crane, in which a fox is repaid for his inhospitable joke when the crane invites him to dinner...

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, in which the humble country mouse discovers that riches cannot compensate for a life of fear...

The Wolf and the Crane, in which a crane discovers that there is no point in expecting reward or gratitude when helping a villain...

The Fox and the Cat, in which a cat's single method of escaping danger proves more useful than the fox's many strategems...

The Wolf and the Lamb, in which a hungry wolf makes up any number of excuses to seize the little lamb...

The Crow and the Peacocks, in which a crow learns that it is better not to pretend to be something you are not...

The Fox and the Grapes, in which a fox pretends not to want the grapes he cannot obtain...

And finally, The Wolf and the Dog, in which a wolf decides that freedom and an empty stomach are preferable to captivity with plenty...

Well into my Aesop project at this point, I can truthfully say that I have begun to pay more attention to the illustrations than the fables, which - unless they have been radically altered - are usually quite similar in these various retellings. I therefore enjoyed McClintock's adaptation, despite being somewhat indifferent to the actual text. I did appreciate her little conceit of framing the book as a performance, in which the "animals" are unmasked at the end, and revealed as human actors. Other than that, the artwork is the chief appeal here. ( )