Rating: *** 3 stars

Retold by Elena Pasquali, illustrated by Nicola Smee,
Two-Minute Animal Stories
Lion, 2009.

Ten stories from around the world are given a brief retelling, with the aim presumably of giving adults more leeway in how long story time lasts. They range from the familiar (‘Hare and Tortoise’, ‘Mouse and Lion’) to ‘Selfish Baboon’ (which could be retitled ‘how the zebra got his stripes and the baboon his red bottom’) and to those that make us laugh out loud at the foolishness of the characters. ‘Count the Donkeys’ is one such that is very well retold and illustrated. Story endings raise a thought or two in the mind of the reader/listener – enough to pursue some talk around them. The illustrations are amusing and accompany the narrative well. There is enough of interest in them to accompany the telling, but not so much that it might delay it – clearly an intended aim, given the two-minute remit. A pleasant title to share with little ones and an easy size to handle, both in content and physical dimensions.

Urmi Chana
November 2009, No. 179

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor