YO AESOP!

Appropriately scheduled for publication on April Fools’ Day, these nine fables spin away wildly from their Aesopian predecessors: A flea-bitten dog spares one of his tiny tormenters, who then returns the favor when the dogcatcher arrives; worms develop an elaborate Early Bird Alarm, but can’t set it because they haven’t any hands; a cockroach comes to a bad end after helping an ungrateful dog and cat get a bag of cookies down from a high shelf; having wandered into a previous fable, the wolf in sheep’s clothing never makes his gig. Aesop himself appends jokes, protests, or critical comments to each fable; retro animal cartoons, ranging from full-bleed, in-your-face scenes to postage stamp vignettes, are placed beside, beneath, around, and within the text, which comes in various sizes of type. Readers of Jon Scieszka’s and Lane Smith’s Stinky Cheese Man (1992) will feel right at home; only by comparison could the send-ups and book design of this one possibly be considered restrained. (Picture book/folklore. 7-9)