Fanciful moral tales featuring animals, overlapping ones familiar from Aesop, Kipling, and Br'er Rabbit, but with more humans - especially Kings, mixed in, and occasionally, more ambiguous. All very short and plainly told. ( )

Delightful. I read this online, but I will definitely buy it if I ever have children. This is the kind of book kids should be reading. It's better than a lot of adult literature, too. ( )

The tales were a collection of short stories. All had a moral, mostly about not making foolish decisions or being deceived by others. The stories were very interesting with the Indian culture celebrated.

Summary:
This book has 18 tales from India, that are being re-told by Ellen C. Babbitt. These tales are great for story time or campfires. One of my favorite tales is The Monkey And The Crocodile. The crocodiles mother wants a monkeys heart to eat so she asks her son to go get her one. He decides to try and trick a monkey to take his heart. The clever monkey tells the crocodile that he left his heart up in his tree. The crocodile takes the monkey back to his tree, but the monkey does not return. The crocodile does not give up, but the monkey is too clever and tricks him again.

Personal Reflection:
I enjoyed all of the tales, but of course my favorite was The Monkey And The Crocodile. The crocodile seems to be gullible and the monkey is just too smart. In every tale was an animal as a character. The book had some pictures in black, but they were helpful to the tale.

Classroom Extension:
1. After reading a few of the tales I would ask the children if they have tales that have been told by their family.
2. I can have the children draw a picture based on the tale we read. ( )