King of the Birds

Title

en_US King of the Birds

Description

en_US This is a hardbound book (hard cover)

en_US Signed by Ruth Heller

en_US Shirley Climo

Creator

en_US Climo, Shirley See all items with this value

Contributor

en_US Heller, Ruth

Date

2016-01-25T15:45:57Z

en_US 2013-08

en_US 1988

Date Available

2016-01-25T15:45:57Z

Date Issued

en_US 1988

Abstract

en_US This book explicitly credits Aesop on its last page. At the kernel of the story is the fable about the wren riding the eagle to the heights and then soaring higher than the eagle does -- and so winning the contest to be the king of the birds. This version expands upon that simple story in a number of ways. First, it spends a good deal of time describing the Hobbsean war of all birds against all as the original state of nature. Secondly, this telling of the story includes a number of deft pourquoi asides. In the contest to fly highest, for example, ostrich is the last competitor with eagle. When eagle outsoars ostrich, the latter sank to the ground and refused to fly, ever again (21). Wren still wears the scorched feathers that she got from flying so close to the sun. A third development of the fable is that wren rules wisely, spreading the birds out through the world in habitats suited to each. The best illustrations might be the group illustrations that include a number of birds, e.g. the birds at war on 6-7. I am surprised it took me until now, twenty-five years later, to find this book!

Identifier

en_US 9780690046236 (lib. bdg.)

en_US 9586 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/76401

Language

en_US eng

Publisher

en_US Thomas Y. Crowell

en_US New York

Subject

en_US PZ8.1.C592 Kin 1988 See all items with this value

en_US One story See all items with this value

en_US Title Page Scanned See all items with this value

Type

en_US Book, Whole