The Lion First Book of Nursery Stories

Rock presents 15 accessible retellings of traditional stories from around the world, accompanied by Vagnozzi’s smudgy, brightly colored artwork, which features friendly, puppetlike characters. Among the entries are a pair of Aesop’s fables, two Andersen fairy tales, and stories from the Philippines, Norway, and elsewhere. Hard-won morals remain intact throughout the collection, with a cocky Gingerbread Man getting gobbled up by a cunning fox and Goldilocks learning a stern lesson once she’s evicted by the bears: “After that, she always did as she was told, and whenever she wanted something, she always said, ‘Please.’ ” Lesser-known stories like “The Greedy Monkey” from Pakistan and “The Man Who Never Lied” from Africa help the collection branch out modestly beyond the usual suspects. Ages 3–5. (Sept.)