The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney - ESSENTIAL

Pinkney, Jerry  The Tortoise and the Hare  Little, Brown and Company, 2013.  $18.00  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G.  

This is the retelling of the Aesop fable of the Tortoise and the Hare using largely illustrations.  The only text throughout the book, is “On your mark, get set go” and “slow and steady wins the race”, the rest of the story is told using pictures.  The animals’ faces and body language tell of the anticipation of those animals watching the race and the effort that the hare and tortoise are exerting.   

I loved the illustrations because they are detailed and amazing.  Usually I don’t like books that have no text and I was a bit leery of this book as well, but when I sat down to read it to my two boys they were super excited that it was about a race and they each wanted different animals to win.  When we got to the end of the book, they asked to read it again-right now!  That much enthusiasm for a book makes it essential in my mind.  

PREK, EL (K-3)-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.