Once a Wood: Ten Tales from Aesop

A sister and brother walk over the hill to spend Sunday afternoon with their French-speaking grandmother. Licking spoons, milking the cow, shaking cream into butter, and setting the table are all part of the fun. Meanwhile Grammy, seemingly without effort, produces a wonderful feast for all. When their parents come to pick them up, the children look forward to the following Sunday gathering.

“The city lights/ up at night./ Going./Glowing./ Yellow/ Bright!” A family sets out for a nighttime jaunt to a street fair, against city skies that deepen from blue twilight to midnight blue, and a city skyline of clock tower, highrises, warehouses. Pictures of the crowded fair lose the family in a sea of puppet shows, magicians, musicians and clowns in a panorama that is magical and timeless. A quiet tucking in as the family comes home brings the city back to the present and familiar.

Night settles over a town and families and neighbors get ready for bed by saying goodnight — everyone except for a wide-awake cat on the rooftop who wants someone to play with.

Sam the zookeeper has the job of feeding the animals every day at three o’clock. Could Sam have forgotten to feed Elephant, the other zoo animals wonder. Follow Sam on his rounds — with bananas for the monkeys, red berries for the bear, a fish for the seal (“Deliciously good!” barks Seal).