Squids will be Squids: Fresh Morals, Beastly Fables

Abstract

Here is the first of three extra copies of the first printing of this book with a dust-jacket. A thoroughly delightful book squarely in the Aesopic tradition and great for young people. This is a book I would think of giving to Sonja. Eighteen fables, more or less, illustrated in the tradition I love from their earlier The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. Elephant comes back three times with mosquito, flea, and gnat respectively. The title fable may be one of the best. gee … I wonder is very close to Aesop in its bearing. straw & matches is downright Thurberesque in moving the story around to fit the proverbial moral. My favorite: little walrus. hand, foot, & tongue starts out looking very close to Aesop, but then…. The very serious historical afterword points out that Aesop was thrown off a cliff for his fables; moral: If you are planning to write fables, don't forget to change the people into animals and avoid places with high cliffs.