The Grasshopper & the Ants

by Jerry Pinkney

Overview

This magnificent rendition of a classic Aesop fable by a Caldecott Medal-winning artist teaches children: Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today!
  In this stunning companion to the Caldecott Medal-winning The Lion & the Mouse and the highly acclaimed The Tortoise & the Hare, a playful grasshopper wonders why the busy ants around him won't join in his merrymaking as the seasons pass by. But when winter arrives, he soon sees the value of his friends' hard work—just as the ants learn the value of sharing what they've worked for. Featuring a striking, surprise gatefold page, this third book in Jerry Pinkney's gorgeous trilogy of picture book fables subtly shows the pitfalls of procrastination.
 
Don't miss these other classic retellings by Jerry Pinkney:
The Little Mermaid
The Lion & the Mouse
The Tortoise & the Hare
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Little Red Riding Hood
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316400817
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	360,547
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jerry Pinkney is one of the most heralded children's book illustrators of all time. He has the rare distinction of being the recipient of five Caldecott Honors and the winner of the 2010 Caldecott medal for The Lion and the Mouse. He has published numerous reimagined classic tales, including The Little Mermaid, The Tortoise & the Hare, The Grasshopper & the Ants, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Little Red Riding Hood, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He has won the Coretta Scott King Award five times, the Coretta Scott King Honor four times, and has been nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson Award. He was also the first children's book illustrator elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives with his wife, author Gloria Jean Pinkney, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. The artist invites you to visit his website at jerrypinkneystudio.com.

Editorial Reviews

The incomparable Pinkney…again turns an Aesop fable into a tale of great beauty and moral complexity…a celebration of both productivity and art, and a call for generosity toward the down and out.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 02/02/2015
Fans of Pinkney’s Caldecott-winning The Lion & the Mouse and his other lively re-tellings may wonder how he will treat this fable, which ends ominously for the grasshopper. They need not worry. He begins by populating a lush, leafy world with ants carrying food, giving the insects expressive faces while drawing them with scientific accuracy. The grasshopper, wearing a straw boater, performs on an assortment of musical instruments. “Why labor so long?” he chirps. “It’s summertime.... Come join me in making music!” Autumn comes, then winter blows in; the grasshopper sits miserably in the snow, wrapping two sets of arms around himself to keep warm. He begs food from a family of ants, but they turn him away. A remarkable gatefold spread reveals the ants’ underground dwelling, their stores of food and cozy woodstove shown in cross-section. While Aesop condemns the grasshopper’s inability to put off gratification, Pinkney suggests that the world is better when everyone can follow his or her own gifts. The world needs good planners, but it needs artists, too. Ages 3–6. Agent: Sheldon Fogelman, Sheldon Fogelman Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Grasshopper & The Ants:
A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2015A Bank Street College Distinguished Children's Book
A 2015 NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Book

*"Full-page vivid watercolor paintings bustling with natural activity and fanciful detail flow through the hues of the seasons, ending in the spare whiteness of winter....A lively and engaging version of a favorite Aesop fable."—School Library Journal, starred review

*"Pinkney suggests that the world is better when everyone can follow his or her own gifts."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"From an unparalleled artist, another brilliant work."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The incomparable Pinkney... again turns an Aesop fable into a tale of great beauty and moral complexity. In... stunningly detailed watercolors, it's a celebration of both productivity and art, and a call for generosity toward the down and out."—The New York Times

"Luckily the master fairy tale and fable adapter Jerry Pinkney... has come to our rescue again.... What [he] delivers is a new classic."—Boston Globe

"Pinkney's woodland scenes, in his signature style, teem with recognizable flora, insects, and seasonal activity...none of it to be missed."—Horn Book

"Pinkney creates another visually stunning re-telling of a fable.... Beautifully detailed and expressive watercolor drawings."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2015
PreS-Gr 2—Grasshopper arrives on the cover with bass drum and cymbals on his back, concertina between his midlegs, and forelegs strumming his banjo. "Why work so hard?" he sings to some busy ants. "It's spring and time to go fishing." But the ants, gathering food for winter, have no time to relax. In summer, the ants decline Grasshopper's invitation for a leafy picnic and some music, and his fall solicitation to "come dance and sing!" in the "playground of leaves" finds no takers. When snowflakes fall, Grasshopper builds a "snow-hopper," then sits freezing with forelegs and midlegs crossed over vest-covered abdomen, while the ants can be seen knitting, stoking the fire, and caring for their young in a cozy tree trunk home. Eventually invited inside by the Ant Queen, fun-loving Grasshopper gladly shares his musical talents with the amiable colony, then sits down to songs, tea, and cookies with the queen. Full-page vivid watercolor paintings bustling with natural activity and fanciful detail flow through the hues of the seasons, ending in the spare whiteness of winter. Fine line pencil-drawn strings and frets on his banjo, intricate snowflake shapes, the lace of a dragonfly's wings, and the colorful flow of musical bars all demonstrate Pinkney's painstaking concern with detail. So does the way a small bit of leafy scenery on the lower front flyleaf blends perfectly into the spring woodland greenery on the endpapers. VERDICT A lively and engaging version of a favorite Aesop fable.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

★ 2015-02-03
Caldecott Medalist Pinkney returns to Aesop, recasting the familiar fable as a meditation on the importance of sustaining both body and soul. As industrious ants ferry seeds and leaves to their colony throughout spring, summer and fall, Grasshopper—a veritable one-bug band with banjo, drum kit and concertina—fishes, frolics and plays. Though he exhorts them to join in, the single-minded ants stick to their tasks. Grasshopper welcomes "the sparkle of first snow," making "snow angels and snow-hoppers." In the lonely cold, his bright mood, colorful markings and checkered vest grow dim. He peeks into the ants' well-lit abode. A gatefold reveals an underground colony humming with activity: Ants stoke a wood stove, spin fiber from leaves and flowers, and prepare a meal. Compassionate Queen Ant appears at the door, offering Grasshopper hot tea. Cozy concluding spreads show everyone making joyful music within, while back endpapers signal a new role for Grasshopper come spring. Pinkney's four-season watercolor palette is more vibrant than ever. Grasshopper's iridescent wings contrast with his scarlet instruments; the ants' earth-brown bodies anchor spreads brimming with lush flowers or whirling autumn leaves. Pinkney's delightfully forthright artist's note identifies Grasshopper as "an artist in his own right." Acknowledging liberties taken with the ants' size, he includes a thumbnail depicting the actual, relative size of both ant and grasshopper. From an unparalleled artist, another brilliant work. (Picture book/folk tale. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews