The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School Hope Morrison Fleming, Candace The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School. Schwartz & Wade, 2007186p Library ed. ISBN 978-0-375-93672-2$18.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-375-83672-5$15.99 Ad Gr. 3-6 Principal Struggles is, well, struggling to find a new fourth-grade teacher at Aesop Elementary School; it seems the reputation of the incoming fourth-grade class has discouraged applicants. Fortunately, the bizarre Mr. Jupiter turns up just in time, and, while his credentials may not seem to bear much relation to teaching (he previously worked as a dog groomer, an orchestra conductor, and a finder of the lost city of Atlantis), he is willing to take on the job. Each subsequent chapter is a contemporary fable, complete with moral, about Mr. Jupiter's fourth-grade class. Once readers figure out the gimmick, they will enjoy trying to guess the moral of each story, as such familiar lessons as "Slow and steady wins the race" and "Necessity is the mother of invention" are intermingled with lesser-known teachings (a particularly pointed chapter shows the students spending the entire month of March taking standardized tests and features the moral "Time is often wasted on things of little consequence"). Unfortunately, the intent to match the stories to the morals [End Page 83] often takes front seat to the development of the stories themselves, so that many chapters are didactic rather than entertaining. There is an odd mix of realism and fantasy, and the characterizations of the students often strain credibility to conform to the point of the chapter. Still, modern-day fables are often entertaining, and Fleming's creative effort deserves attention and possibly a creative-writing lesson wherein students attempt to write their own school fables. Copyright © 2007 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois