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Blue Level

2004 The Donkey in the Lion's Skin: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Eric Blair. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Blue Level: Picture Window Books. $14.39 from Buy.com through eBay, June, '08.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. This version identifies the donkey as "foolish" at the story's very beginning. In a curious development, the donkey scares away people and animals with his growling, but then is so pleased that he brays. It is the braying that gives him away to the fox. Silverman again does a good job with facial expressions. While the donkey displays his emotions well, the lion's expression is nicely consistent. Would a dead lion's skin have open eyes? With this book I seem to have all the titles printed in the "Read it! Readers" series on the Blue Level. Reinforced library binding.

2004 The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Mark White. Illustrated by Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Blue Level: Picture Window Books. $1 from Read for the Fun of It, Owatonna, MN, through abe, March, '07.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were painted with gouache. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. There is one new twist here. The owner, who gets a golden egg per day from his special goose, tries to get other geese to produce golden eggs. He also tries to get more than one per day from his special goose. The book's characteristic "goose profile" is excellent! It appears on the cover, the title-page, and the first page of the story. This book is the second that I have from Picture Window Books. I have "The Fox and the Grapes" from the Yellow Level. I just took the occasion to order the four other books I know are done by Picture Window Books.

2006 La gansa de los huevos de oro: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Por Mark White; Traducción por Carlos Ruiz. Ilustrado por Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Azul: Picture Window Books. $12.40 from Buy.com, June, '08.

Here is the Spanish version of a book I already have in English. Picture Window had published that book in 2004. Let me repeat comments I made there. This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were created in gouache. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. There is one new twist here. The owner, who gets a golden egg per day from his special goose, tries to get other geese to produce golden eggs. He also tries to get more than one per day from his special goose. The book's characteristic "goose profile" is excellent! It appears on the cover, the title-page, and the first page of the story. Up until now, I have tried to get all the versions that Picture Window is putting out, but I see that they now offer a dozen books in Spanish on the Yellow Level. I may have to content myself with trying to be complete in English and to have a few sample editions like this one in Spanish.

Yellow Level

2004 The Ant and the Grasshopper: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Mark White. Illustrated by Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $15.28 from A1Textbooks.com, April, '07.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were painted with watercolor. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. There is no ultimate resolution here. The last word is the ant's statement "There's a time for play, and a time for work." One nice touch is the contrasted use of rainy days on 14-15: for making up songs and for storing food, respectively. Perhaps the best image is on 22-23 and again on the front cover: the confrontation at the door of the ant's home. This book is the third that I have from Picture Window Books and the second, with "The Fox and the Grapes," on the Yellow Level. Reinforced library binding. I am not sure why the books in the "Read-it! Readers" series are often so expensive!

2006 El cigarra y la hormiga: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Por Mark White. Ilustrado por Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Amarillo: Picture Window Books. $16.38 from Book Lovers USA through abe books, Nov., '11.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were painted with watercolor. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. There is no ultimate resolution here. The last word is the ant's statement "Hay ratos para divertierse y ratos para trabajar." One nice touch is the contrasted use of rainy days on 14-15: for making up songs and for storing food, respectively. Perhaps the best image is on 22-23 and again on the front cover: the confrontation at the door of the ant's home. I am coming close to finding the Spanish parallels -- I now have five -- for the eleven English fable books printed in the "Read it! Readers" series. Reinforced library binding.

2004 The Boy Who Cried Wolf: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Eric Blair. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. Paperbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $5.99 from Buy.com through eBay, June, '08.

This book is 5¾" x 8¼" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. The story is well told. The boy is bored. The sheep are his, and the villagers are kind to come and help him out. He plays the same trick "again and again" (16). Perhaps the best picture of a good lot is that of the disgruntled townsfolk when they have been laughed at again and again (16-17). Is this book the sixth that I have of the "Read-it! Readers" and the fourth on the Yellow Level?

2004 The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Eric Blair. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $16.73 from Buy.com through eBay, June, '08.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. Silverman again does a good job with the animals' facial expressions. There is a new element here at the city banquet: "The country mouse was amazed. He also was ashamed to be so poor" (17). First the cat and then the servants intrude on the city meal. With this book I seem to need only FG and WSC to have all the titles printed in the "Read it! Readers" series on the Yellow Level. Reinforced library binding.

2006 El ratón de campo y el ratón de ciudad: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Por Eric Blair. Ilustrado por Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Amarillo: Picture Window Books. $16 38 from Book Lovers USA through abe books, Nov., '11.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. Silverman does a good job with the animals' facial expressions. There is a new element here at the city banquet: "El ratón de campo estaba encantado. Pero sentía vergüenza de ser tan pobre" (17). First the cat and then the servants intrude on the city meal. Reinforced library binding.

2004 The Crow and the Pitcher: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Eric Blair. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $12.40 from Buy.com through eBay, June, '08.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. This book offers great facial expressions for the crow on, e.g., 5 and 11. The cover illustration has one of these fine facial expressions. The last lines make a fitting moral: "The crow was pleased with herself. By refusing to give up, she had solved her difficult problem" (22). I am coming close to getting all the books printed in the "Read it! Readers" series, including all eight on the Yellow Level. Reinforced library binding.

2006 El cuervo y la jarra: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Por Eric Blair. Ilustrado por Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Amarillo: Picture Window Books. $16 38 from Book Lovers USA through abe books, Nov., '11.

As I mention of the English version, this book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. This book offers great facial expressions for the crow on, e.g., 5 and 11. The cover illustration has one of these fine facial expressions. The last lines make a fitting moral, as they do in English: "El cuervo estaba muy satisfecho. No se rindió y así resolvió su difícil problema" (22). I am coming close to finding the Spanish parallels -- I now have five -- for the eleven English fable books printed in the "Read it! Readers" series. Reinforced library binding.

2004 The Dog and the Wolf: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Eric Blair. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $12.40 from Buy.com through eBay, June, '08.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. New in this version and very good is the dog's line to the wolf: "What you need is a steady job" (10). There may be a problem with the match between text and illustration when the wolf "noticed a mark" but the picture shows the dog wearing a collar. The moral here is fine: "I'd rather be free than full" (22). With this book I seem to need only WSC to have all the titles printed in the "Read it! Readers" series on the Yellow Level, and I have just ordered it. Reinforced library binding.

2004 The Fox and the Grapes: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Written by Mark White. Illustrated by Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books. $11.44 from MovieMars.com, Indian Trail, NC, through eBay, August, '05. 

This is my first acquisition of a book from a series I have noticed in the past two years. The books are usually quite expensive! This book is on the "Yellow Level," second from the top in the series' arrangement. That is, the yellow level "presents more challenging ideas, a broad vocabulary, and wide variety in sentence structure" (1). The grapes are identified as ripe from their entrance into the story. Instead of a moral, we get an explanation: "The fox knew the grapes were tasty. It made him feel better to pretend they were sour, because he couldn't have them" (24). The art is excellent. The pictures are lively. Among the best are those showing the fox after crashing from his first leap (14-15) and the fox trying to climb up the vines and clasping the post (16).

2004 The Tortoise and the Hare: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Mark White. Illustrated by Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $11.95 from Cody Books Ltd., Point Roberts, WA, April, '07.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were painted with watercolor. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. The idea of the race comes from the tortoise. The hare had passed by him earlier on the way to visit his sister. When he returns, he finds that the tortoise has not advanced much. "Are you still way back here?" Then the tortoise suggests a race. When he gets well beyond the tortoise, the hare stops to snack on both carrots and berries and then falls asleep. The cover illustration selects a good detail from the very moment of the suggestion of a race on 9. This book is the fifth that I have of the "Read-it! Readers" and the third on the Yellow Level. Reinforced library binding.

2006 La liebre y la tortuga: Versión de la fábula de Esopo.  Por Mark White.  Ilustrado por Sara Rojo.  Hardbound.  Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Amarillo:  Picture Window Books.  $2 from Brenda Biermann, Zionsville, IN, through eBay, May, '14.

2004 The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Mark White. Illustrated by Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Yellow Level: Picture Window Books. $12.40 from Buy.com, July, '08.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were created digitally. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. The eyes and face of the wolf are particularly well done. I wrote of the Spanish version that It is a pity that he does not appear on the cover. But he does! He had fooled me! The cover reproduces 12-13 but adds an eye on the shepherd's otherwise blank face. This shepherd watches the sheep enter the fold but notices nothing unusual. Just when the wolf is closed into the pen and wondering which sheep to eat first, the shepherd returns, saying "I need something for my dinner" (20). Only after he slaughters one of the sheep does he see that this sheep was a wolf. Then he thinks "It is dangerous to pretend to be something you are not" (24). All of the books in this series have a reinforced library binding.

2006 El lobo con piel de oveja: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Por Mark White. Ilustrado por Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Amarillo: Picture Window Books. $15.28 from A1Textbooks.com, Fairfield, NJ, through abe, April, '07.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. Though this is the sixth book I have in the "Read-it! Readers" series, it is the first in Spanish. The illustrations were created digitally. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. The eyes and face of the wolf are particularly well done. It is a pity that he does not appear on the cover! The cover instead reproduces 12-13 but adds an eye on the shepherd's otherwise blank face. This shepherd watches the sheep enter the fold but notices nothing unusual. Just when the wolf is closed into the pen and wondering which sheep to eat first, the shepherd returns, saying "Necessito algo para la cena" (20). Only after he slaughters one of the sheep does he see that this sheep was a wolf. Then he thinks "Es peligroso aparentar lo que no somos" (24). All of the books in this series have a reinforced library binding. The obverse of the title-page lists other books on the yellow level, at least in Spanish. Here I count six other fable books. Wanting to get out there and find them, I started with the Picture Window Books website and found out that there are twenty-four fable books. My work is cut out for me!

Green Level

2004 Belling the Cat: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Eric Blair. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Green Level: Picture Window Books. $12.40 from Buy.com through eBay, June, '08.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were prepared digitally. The same good illustration is offered here on the front cover, the title-page, and the first page of text. In it, the cat is peering into the mouse-hole. This volume, like each of the books in this series, offers a description of fable on the page preceding the fable text. This book does a good job of dressing up the mice and individualizing them, e.g., at the mass mice meeting on 8-9. Again in this volume, the last lines of the story offer a good moral viewpoint: "'You see,' said the wise old mouse, 'some things are easier said than done' " (22). With this book and "The Lion and the Mouse," I have both of the titles printed in the "Read it! Readers" series on the Green Level. Reinforced library binding.

2004 The Lion and the Mouse: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. By Mark White. Illustrated by Sara Rojo. Hardbound. Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Green Level: Picture Window Books. $12.24 from Betterworld.com, April, '07.

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages. The illustrations were painted with gouache. The story is well told. Text and illustrations make for a lively telling of the fable. The mouse in this version wakes up from a nap and is looking for a snack. He is enjoying the smells of the world. He finds himself in front of a snoring lion. The lion yawns and then cleverly comments that he has "been awakened by a snack" (10). The lion is apparently netted within minutes of his encounter with the mouse. The lion here shows a kind side by telling the solicitous mouse to run away before the hunters catch him too. The mouse has to climb the tree to get at the net. There is an excellent pair of repeated lines here: "You have your freedom. You owe me nothing." Perhaps the two strongest illustrations are on 10-11 and 12-13; the latter is repeated as the front cover. This book is the fourth that I have from Picture Window Books and the first on the Green Level. Reinforced library binding.

2006 El cascabel del gato: Versión de la fábula de Esopo.  Por Eric Blair; Traducción: Patricia Abello.  Ilustrado por Dianne Silverman.  Hardbound.  Minneapolis, MN: Read-it! Readers Nivel Verde:  Picture Window Books.  $2 from Brenda Biermann, Ziionsville, IN, through eBay, May, '14.  

This book is 6" x 8½" and has 24 pages.  It is a Spanish version of "Belling the Cat: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable" in the same series, but this book was published two years later.  As I wrote there, the illustrations were prepared digitally.  The same good illustration is offered here on the front cover, the title-page, and the first page of text.  In it, the cat is peering into the mouse-hole.  This volume, like each of the books in this series, offers a description of fable on the page preceding the fable text.  This book does a good job of dressing up the mice and individualizing them, e.g., at the mass mice meeting on 8-9.  Again in this volume, the last lines of the story offer a good moral viewpoint: "Ya ven -- dijo el viejo ratón--.  Es más fácil decir que hacer" (22).  Reinforced library binding.

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