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Kingfisher Treasury Of Stories
The Kingfisher Treasury of Animal Stories
This charming collection includes fables from Aesop, favorite stories from Rudyard Kipling, a humorous tale by Edward Lear, and modern stories by Ted Hughes and Ruskin Bond.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 5, 2025
Are you going to edit an animal-themed anthology? Here's a handy tip -- animal lovers DO NOT want to read about animals getting killed or tortured. Simple as that.
If it wasn't for the artwork, this anthology would only have rated one star. It's mostly fables and folk tales. There was really only one good story in the lot, "Tigers Forever."
Selections:
* "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling. This has also been published under titles with variations of "How the Elephant Got Its Trunk." From Just So Stories, but a complete story. The illustrator does some of her best work here.
* "The Hare and the Tortoise" by Aesop. Retold by Robin Lister. Best version of the old chestnut thst I've ever read. A father reads the Fable to his daughter, and she dreams about it.
* "Why the Raven Has Black Feathers" by ? Native American folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. I thought I heard all of the Raven trickster stories, but this was a new one for me. Unfortunately, the illustrator has no idea what a North American common raven looks like.
* "The Seven Families of Lake Pipple-Popple" by Edward Lear. This is one of those horrifying tales of animal fratricide that's simply to scare kids into doing whatever their parents tell them to. I really, really could've done without the drawing of dead guinea pigs.
* "Brer Rabbit Gets Himself a House" by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit is a big shit to the other creatures of the forest.
* "The Seal Catcher" by ? Scottish folk tale. Retold by Eugenie Summerfield. A seal hunter meets a stranger who orders 100 seal skins by nightfall.
* "Billy Bear's Stumpy Tail" by ? Scandinavian folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. A decent retelling of the folk tale. Apparently, old folks never realized that bears hibernate during the winter.
* "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin" by Rudyard Kipling. From Just So Stories. Just a so-so story, not really considered PC today with the Parsee character.
* "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by ? Another Scandinavian folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. This is why you don't fuck with goats.
* "The Lioness and the Mouse" by Aesop. Retold by Robin Lister. Really bad, way too long version of the Fable. The lion has been changed to a lioness ... named Simba, which is a masculine name. Here, the lioness was to be caught for a zoo, not the Colusseum.
* "How the Polar Bear Became" by Ted Hughes. Mr. Sylvia Plath, known for dark works like epic poetry, wrote several works for children, including a surprisingly upbeat modern Fable about why the polar bear lives at the North Pole. The illustrator does a great job here. For some reason, she includes a bull terrier as one of polar bear's admirers ... in a story set before humans came along.
* "Henny Penny" by ? An English folk tale. This is a particularly annoying retelling of Chicken Little, who claimed the sky is falling down.
* "The Ostrich and the Hedgehog" by ? An African folk tale. Retold by Eugenie Summerfield. The hedgehog is a conniving little shit. The male Ostrich is drawn as a female. Unenjoyable.
* "The Two Frogs" by ? A Japanese folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. Kids, frogs aren't this stupid.
* "Tigers Forever" by Ruskin Bond. This is the longest story in the collection, graced by the illustrator's best work. Overall, this is the highlight of the book.
* "Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse" by ? An English folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. This is one of those old folk tales that deserves to be forgotten. People and animals dying just aren't funny, folks.
* "Old Sultan" by the Brothers Grimm. Retold by Nora Clarke. Unusual story for the Grimms -- no major character dies.
* "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson. Retold by Linda Yateman. Imagine my surprise when I found out that swan cygnets aren't ugly at all.
* "The Raven and the Fox" by Aesop. Retold by Robin Lister. It's a piece of strawberry cheesecake instead of a piece of cheese this time, and Raven curses "stone the crows", but basically the timeworn fable in a shabby new dress.
If it wasn't for the artwork, this anthology would only have rated one star. It's mostly fables and folk tales. There was really only one good story in the lot, "Tigers Forever."
Selections:
* "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling. This has also been published under titles with variations of "How the Elephant Got Its Trunk." From Just So Stories, but a complete story. The illustrator does some of her best work here.
* "The Hare and the Tortoise" by Aesop. Retold by Robin Lister. Best version of the old chestnut thst I've ever read. A father reads the Fable to his daughter, and she dreams about it.
* "Why the Raven Has Black Feathers" by ? Native American folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. I thought I heard all of the Raven trickster stories, but this was a new one for me. Unfortunately, the illustrator has no idea what a North American common raven looks like.
* "The Seven Families of Lake Pipple-Popple" by Edward Lear. This is one of those horrifying tales of animal fratricide that's simply to scare kids into doing whatever their parents tell them to. I really, really could've done without the drawing of dead guinea pigs.
* "Brer Rabbit Gets Himself a House" by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit is a big shit to the other creatures of the forest.
* "The Seal Catcher" by ? Scottish folk tale. Retold by Eugenie Summerfield. A seal hunter meets a stranger who orders 100 seal skins by nightfall.
* "Billy Bear's Stumpy Tail" by ? Scandinavian folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. A decent retelling of the folk tale. Apparently, old folks never realized that bears hibernate during the winter.
* "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin" by Rudyard Kipling. From Just So Stories. Just a so-so story, not really considered PC today with the Parsee character.
* "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by ? Another Scandinavian folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. This is why you don't fuck with goats.
* "The Lioness and the Mouse" by Aesop. Retold by Robin Lister. Really bad, way too long version of the Fable. The lion has been changed to a lioness ... named Simba, which is a masculine name. Here, the lioness was to be caught for a zoo, not the Colusseum.
* "How the Polar Bear Became" by Ted Hughes. Mr. Sylvia Plath, known for dark works like epic poetry, wrote several works for children, including a surprisingly upbeat modern Fable about why the polar bear lives at the North Pole. The illustrator does a great job here. For some reason, she includes a bull terrier as one of polar bear's admirers ... in a story set before humans came along.
* "Henny Penny" by ? An English folk tale. This is a particularly annoying retelling of Chicken Little, who claimed the sky is falling down.
* "The Ostrich and the Hedgehog" by ? An African folk tale. Retold by Eugenie Summerfield. The hedgehog is a conniving little shit. The male Ostrich is drawn as a female. Unenjoyable.
* "The Two Frogs" by ? A Japanese folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. Kids, frogs aren't this stupid.
* "Tigers Forever" by Ruskin Bond. This is the longest story in the collection, graced by the illustrator's best work. Overall, this is the highlight of the book.
* "Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse" by ? An English folk tale. Retold by Nora Clarke. This is one of those old folk tales that deserves to be forgotten. People and animals dying just aren't funny, folks.
* "Old Sultan" by the Brothers Grimm. Retold by Nora Clarke. Unusual story for the Grimms -- no major character dies.
* "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson. Retold by Linda Yateman. Imagine my surprise when I found out that swan cygnets aren't ugly at all.
* "The Raven and the Fox" by Aesop. Retold by Robin Lister. It's a piece of strawberry cheesecake instead of a piece of cheese this time, and Raven curses "stone the crows", but basically the timeworn fable in a shabby new dress.
December 23, 2025
This collection of animal stories includes tales from a variety of counties as well stories by Aesop, the Grimm Brothers, Kipling, and others. Some are well-known, others not so much. Appropriate for grade schoolers, be aware that in some of the stories, animals do kill other animals for food. There are some morals to be had here in the tales, but others are purely for entertainment. Well chosen and written for youngsters, parents and guardians may want to listen to their children read aloud from this collection, and discuss the stories.
August 29, 2018
I picked this up as a nice short read, something to dip in and out of as needed. But overall I really did not like the tone of the book. The stories are not 'original' and seem to be retold in a slightly mocking way that I didn't like. That said, the target audience would probably love it and the illustrations are fantastic.
May 31, 2023
I chose this book for a read aloud with my son, however the stories were retold in a manner not very suitable for young children in my opinion. The attitudes/character traits of the animals just seemed unnecessary in retelling these stories.
May 23, 2012
Interesting
May 20, 2015
i think is was ok and i love animals
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews