Prior to reading this book, I really had no idea about the life of Aesop. I've only been familiar with his fables, which I've had read to me and I have read on my own since I was a very young child. According to this book, Aesop was a slave who started telling his famous stories as ways of speaking in code to his fellow slaves and to try to impart wisdom on the masters who were constantly buying and selling him. And supposedly only those who were powerless were able to understand what he was saying.

Even his very biography could be a fable, as there are only snippets of records of him that even exist. All of those snippets have been put together over time to create this idea of the one person who created all of these beloved tales with lessons. It's interesting to read up on what is actually known about his life.

Following the fable of Aesop as a storyteller is a collection of some of his most beloved and best-known tales, complete with beautiful illustrations accompanying them. Each one, of course, lends itself to great conversations.

This was an interesting way to present the man's history, and I hope it inspires others to go off and do a bit more research on him, as I did after reading this book.

I gave it four stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An interesting combination of the backstory of Aesop with his fables woven throughout. I received a free digital review copy through NetGalley.