The Tortoise and the Hare

The Tortoise and the Hare: A Retelling of Aesop’s Fable

Author: Mark White

Illustrator: Sara Rojo

Publisher Picture Window Books

Copyright 2004

24 Pages

Fable/ Traditional

            I chose to read this book because it was one of my favorite fables when I was young. In this fable, the rather slow tortoise challenges the fast hare to a race, betting that he will beat the hare. The hare believes that he has won the race when he gets very far ahead of the tortoise so he eats a snack and takes a quick nap in the shade. However, while the hare was resting, the tortoise was steadily getting further ahead. And so the tortoise wins the race because the hare thought he was going to beat the tortoise and wasted his time.

            The illustrator of this book used watercolors to paint each illustration. The illustrations have muted colors and rather simple lines. The illustrations are not textural and seem one dimensional. The text placement is formal with the text on top of most of the pages. The illustrator does not use much negative space throughout this book; however, the illustrations remain the focal point of each page.

            This book is appropriate for children of all ages but mostly younger children between three and six years old. Younger children would enjoy looking at the illustrations and being read to since this book is not as long as other books. Teachers could use this book in their classrooms as character education and teach students how to pace themselves instead of rushing through their work. This book would be wonderful to read to students as they enter a new grade to simply remind them of good work habits to keep in mind.