cover image Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables

Aesop, Werner Thuswalder, A. Bell. NorthSouth, $16.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-1-55858-339-9

In her first book, German artist Durr uses pencil and charcoal to illustrate a particularly imaginative selection of 17 classic fables. Although many entries are familiar, Thuswaldner makes room for more unusual choices. In ``A Dress for the Moon,'' for example, the moon's mother complains of the moon's ever-changing size, which makes her ``the despair of the very best of dressmakers!'' The retellings are graceful and, true to Aesop, do not tack on any aphoristic morals. With its sophisticated design, however, the volume lacks child appeal. Sketchy and airy, the art is more conceptual than purely narrative; the duotone presentation may obscure the visual transitions between many of the spreads. Color remains the province of the type, printed in a distractingly bright, tomato red that seems almost to vibrate against the stark white paper. All ages. (Dec.)