I really enjoyed his retelling of Aesop’s fable. In his story, the grasshopper provides a number of compelling reasons for the ants to stop working, but the clever ants and other bugs have plenty to do! Once he finds himself alone, shivering in the snow, the pages are mostly wordless. A beautiful fold-old page shows the grasshopper shivering in the snow and the ants busily working in the ant mound below him. In this version, the Queen Ant is kind, inviting him in for tea, and the grasshopper is able to add his music to the winter warmth in the ant mound.
Although there is much to love about this story, the best part, for me, was the personality in the faces of the grasshopper and the ants (especially the queen ant). It is not necessarily easy to show emotion in an insect face, and yet, Pinkney succeeds at it. One cannot help feeling sorry for the foolish grasshopper!
The Grasshopper and the Ants is a wonderful addition to the Aesop picture book world.
Note: I received a copy of this book for review consideration.
