Product Description

Industrious ants prepare for winter while a grasshopper doesn't.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1054926 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Booklist
Aesop's fable is transported to the Chinese Emperor's summer palace, and it is an effective move. Most versions of this fable fail to go beyond the basic message, but Poole's paintings and simple text capture the wistful nature of this story, evoking the lazy days and magical nights of summer. The ants here may be thinking in the long term, but they are so busy working that they fail to see the beauty around them; the grasshopper may be doomed but appreciates the summer more than the busy ants. Poole uses ink and gouache on rice paper in double-page spreads to capture the style, subtle colors, and mistiness of traditional Chinese paintings. Yet her pictures aren't merely imitative--they're heightened with an added layer of Western energy. And, although simple, many of the illustrations feature surprising details, such as the animals outlined in the subterranean reaches of the ants' chambers. A wonderfully refreshing spin on the familiar fable. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Aesop's fable is transported to the Chinese Emperor's summer palace, and it is an effective move. Most versions of this fable fail to go beyond the basic message, but Poole's paintings and simple text capture the wistful nature of this story, evoking the lazy days and magical nights of summer. The ants here may be thinking in the long term, but they are so busy working that they fail to see the beauty around them; the grasshopper may be doomed but appreciates the summer more than the busy ants. Poole uses ink and gouache on rice paper in double-page spreads to capture the style, subtle colors, and mistiness of traditional Chinese paintings. Yet her pictures aren't merely imitative--they're heightened with an added layer of Western energy. And, although simple, many of the illustrations feature surprising details, such as the animals outlined in the subterranean reaches of the ants' chambers. A wonderfully refreshing spin on the familiar fable. Todd Morning Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved (Boolist )

About the Author
Amy Lowry Poole lived near the Summer Palace in Beijing, China for four years. There, she studied scroll making and worked alongside Chinese artists. Her paintings have been shown in galleries and museums in Beijing, Chicago, New York, and Maine. She now lives part of the year in Chicago, Illinois, with her three daughters and spends summers with them on a farm in Camden, Maine.