The role of the parable is an important one to help understand the roots of right and wrong. We live in such a fractured and untrusting world, that I think it’s important to rediscover the simple truths of honesty and integrity over-ambition, and the pursuit of power for its own sake. And so, I have an interest in the topic because I am a citizen hoping for a better world, and an expertise in the subject because I’m a father raising two children in that same fractious environment.
Dr. Seuss is the master of the parable. Yertle the Turtle is a classic example of an illustrated picture book with a point about the pitfalls of unbridled ambition, and while I chose this book to highlight, The Lorax is another great example of a story with an equally consequential moral.
In this hilarious book, featuring three timeless fables, Dr. Seuss explores the pitfalls of growing too big for your boots!
King Yertle the Turtle soon learns the pitfalls of becoming too big for your boots, in the first tale in this hilarious trio of classic Dr. Seuss fables!
As part of a major rebrand programme, HarperCollins is relaunching Dr. Seuss's bestselling books, including such perennial favourites as The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and Fox in Socks. In response to consumer demand, the bright new cover designs incorporate much needed guidance on reading levels, with the standard…
There is no better teller of parables than Aesop.Each of his stories carries the weight of its moral in an easily understood and digestible manner.Just because they were written millennia ago doesn’t mean they aren’t relatable and relevant today. I also love Aesop’s Fables because they inspire and activate my imagination.Being a full-time artist, looking for inspiration around every corner, that’s important!
This recommendation might be construed by some as dated and possibly insensitive, but the wisdom of the trickster derived from African folktales in the Antebellum Deep South are worth consideration. The story of the Tar Baby is ubiquitous, and teaches to respect brains over brawn…“What ever you do, don’t throw me in the briar patch!”
A classic book compiling the complete tales from eight books, with the original illustrations.
It’s been more than a hundred years since the publication of the first Uncle Remus book, and it was in 1955 that all of the delightful and inimitable tales of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and Brer Wolf were gathered together in one volume. All of the animal tales from eight books are here, along with the illustrations which originally accompanied them.
Any fan of folklore and mythology will treasure this edition.
For some, this book is too advanced and adult for children, but I disagree. There are good versions with illustrations (most notable by Ralph Steadman) that make for the perfect book to read to a slightly older child. I read this to my own son when he was about 7, and he both loved the story and our rudimentary discussions about what it was really about.
The perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts' collection, discover Orwell's classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey
'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.'
Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the…
Jimmy Whistler arrived on the tail-end of WWII and that inured him to the constant conflicts of life. By the time he was a young man, the Sixties taught him not to worry so much, though constant conflict still prevailed. After a stint in the Marines, he maintained his way…
This is another book that some might find problematic, in that it is clearly a caricature of an old Imperial Chinese village, but the rhyming wordplay in Tikki Tikki Tembo’s name is delightful, and the moral of Brother Chang’s worth and value is an important one for anyone with a child looking to step out of the shadow of an older sibling.
Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo- chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo!
Three decades and more than one million copies later children still love hearing about the boy with the long name who fell down the well. Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent's classic re-creation of an ancient Chinese folktale has hooked legions of children, teachers, and parents, who return, generation after generation, to learn about the danger of having such an honorable name as Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.
Tikki Tikki Tembo is the winner of the 1968 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Picture Books.
The Lying King is a fable about an ambitious warthog, who lies his way to the top of the animal kingdom only to fall from grace caught in the web of his own lies. The book is a modern parable about what happens to those who tell lies to advance their own nefarious purposes, and while not overtly political, it does take a clear stand against those who deceive and divide.
In a time of alternative facts and the loss of a shared sense of reality, A Foot is Not a Fish playfully illustrates the difference between what is true and what is not through absurd fun comparisons that every child—and parent—will instantly understand.
An illustrated A-to-Z (plus an ampersand) poetry collection celebrating Victorian life. It's a lighthearted, illustrated journey through the unforgettable Victorian era.
From Ada Lovelace’s creation of the first algorithm to the gasp-inducing moving images of the Zoetrope, each poem and historical note invites you to relax with a cup of…
