Aesop's Fables > Books of Fables > Series Books > Joie Hirata Series

Joie Hirata Series

1989 Country Mouse and Town Mouse/The Monkey King. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #1 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

Here a hunter (a Black African) gets the monkey king. Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. The righthand pages are full illustrations, while those on the left present text with one telling symbol. The English is sometimes a little off. The venue is often Africa. The morals sometimes miss the point. The back cover advertises: the characters "help to teach moral behavior to our children." A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 A Donkey in Lion's Disguise/A Wolf and a Lamb/The Bear and the Travelers. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #2 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

The raccoon discovers the lion-clad donkey. The lamb needs time to digest. The moral works from the lamb, not the wolf: this was a bad choice. One traveler is so fat that he cannot climb the tree. Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 Ants and Grasshoppers/Three Oxen and a Lion. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #3 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

Here there are three grasshoppers instead of the usual one. The ant's last word is "Just go on singing now." The lion--in the African savanna--gets the oxen arguing among themselves. Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 A Cowardly Bat/A Donkey and a Foolish Wolf/A Crow that was Tricked. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #4 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

The battle between the birds and the animals is set in Africa and gets detailed description. The monkeys wear coconuts and ride elephants! Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. The middle story's moral misses the point. A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 A Mouse's Gratitude/The Foolish Tiger and the Foolish Leopard/Outsmarting the Cat. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #5 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

The mouse is spared because she has seven children. The final story about belling the cat has a good moral: "What you cannot do yourself, do not expect others to do." Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 A Mouse's Wedding/A Fox and Grapes/An Ant and a Dove. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #6 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition; here the first story has particularly good illustrations. A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 The North Wind and the Sun/A Lion and a Mosquito/An Eagle and a Crow. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #7 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. The righthand pages are full illustrations, while the left present the text with one telling symbol. The English is sometimes a little off. The morals sometimes miss the point. The back cover advertises that the characters "help to teach moral behavior to our children." A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 A Crow in Borrowed Feathers/The Shepherd who Always Lied. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #8 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90. Extra copy for $2 at The Book Exchange, Spokane, March, '96.

Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. The righthand pages are full illustrations, while the left present the text with one telling symbol. This version adds a nymph to the "borrowed feathers" story and makes it a matter of selecting a king. A find in my one day in Singapore! And a find in a very short search in Spokane six years later!

1989 The Hare and the Tortoise/A Foolish Miller and His Donkey. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #9 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. The righthand pages are full illustrations, while the left present the text with one telling symbol. The English is sometimes a little off: on 19 we read lead for led. The morals sometimes miss the point. The back cover advertises that the characters "help to teach moral behavior to our children." A find in my one day in Singapore!

1989 A Greedy Dog/The Gold Ax and the Silver Ax. Illustrations, and apparently text, by Shogo Hirata. Aesop's Fables. Illustrated Fantasy Book for Children. #10 in a series of ten. Printed in Singapore. Tokyo: Joie, Inc. $2 at Popular Book, Singapore, June, '90.

The first story adds a first small dog, from whom the meat is stolen. Good lively cartoon work in the Disney tradition. The righthand pages are full illustrations, while the left present the text with one telling symbol. The English is sometimes a little off. The morals sometimes miss the point. A find in my one day in Singapore!

To top