Review of The Fabled Life of Aesop by Ian Lendler

Honoring the path of a slave, this dramatic picture-book biography and concise anthology of Aesop’s most child-friendly fables tells how a child born into slavery in ancient Greece found a way to speak out against injustice by using the skill and wit of his storytelling—storytelling that has survived for 2,500 years. Stunningly illustrated by two-time Caldecott Honor winner Pamela Zagarenski.

The Tortoise and the Hare. The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The Fox and the Crow. Each of Aesop’s stories has a lesson to tell, but Aesop’s life story is perhaps the most inspiring tale of them all.

Gracefully revealing the genesis of his tales, this story of Aesop shows how fables not only liberated him from captivity but spread wisdom over a millennium. This is the only children’s book biography about him.

Includes thirteen illustrated fables: The Lion and the Mouse, The Goose and the Golden Egg, The Fox and the Crow, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Dog and the Wolf, The Lion and the Statue, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The North Wind and the Sun, The Fox and the Grapes, The Dog and the Wolf, The Lion and the Boar.

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**My thoughts**
Prior to reading this book, I really had no idea about the life of Aesop. I've only been familiar with his fables, which I've had read to me and I have read on my own since I was a very young child. According to this book, Aesop was a slave who started telling his famous stories as ways of speaking in code to his fellow slaves and to try to impart wisdom on the masters who were constantly buying and selling him. And supposedly only those who were powerless were able to understand what he was saying. 

Even his very biography could be a fable, as there are only snippets of records of him that even exist. All of those snippets have been put together over time to create this idea of the one person who created all of these beloved tales with lessons. It's interesting to read up on what is actually known about his life.

Following the fable of Aesop as a storyteller is a collection of some of his most beloved and best-known tales, complete with beautiful illustrations accompanying them. Each one, of course, lends itself to great conversations. 

This was an interesting way to present the man's history, and I hope it inspires others to go off and do a bit more research on him, as I did after reading this book.

I gave it four stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.