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Far out Fables
The Robo-battle of Mega Tortoise vs. Hazard Hare
Shelly the Tortoise is determined to beat Hunter the Hare... in an epic robot battle! Animals from around the forest are engineering their own mechanical fighting suits to enter the hi-tech competition. Shelly is working tirelessly to perfect her machine while Hunter goofs off, confident he will win like always. But when the two faceoff in the arena, will Shelly's slow-and-steady approach be enough to KO Hunter and finally bring victory? In this Far Out Fables adventure, Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare receives a playful, modern twist. Experience a classic fable like never before in this full-color graphic novel retelling for kids!
33 pages, Library Binding
Published August 1, 2017
5 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie True Peters
129 books9 followers“By all appearances, I am a typical suburban mother,” reports Stephanie True Peters. “I’m forty-three, have two children, Jackson, age 11, and Chloe, age 9, and a husband, Dan, who to me seems ageless. I live in a nice neighborhood in a town just far enough south of Boston to be considered the boonies. I do the grocery shopping, the cleaning (well, sometimes), go to the gym, and operate the ride-on lawnmower with some regularity. Yes, I fit the role of typical suburban mother to a T.
“Perhaps this explains the surprised reactions I receive when I tell people that I write children’s books. ‘You do? Really?’ their raised eyebrows and open mouths seem to say. Then come the usual questions: ‘Have you ever been published? Would I know anything you’ve done?’
“I have, and I certainly hope you recognize the titles of some of my books. (If not, feel free to pick one up sometime—or two, or three . . .)
“That I am able to spend my days at such work is, on the whole, wonderful. I lose myself for hours in imagined scenarios, made-up people, or buried in research into a fascinating topic. I’m here when my kids and husband need me and can take a day off when I need some ‘me’ time. Sometimes I miss the office life I had years ago, when I was an editor at Little, Brown Children’s Books. Then I compare my commute then (a long ride on public transportation) versus now (a short climb up a flight of stairs) and realize just how lucky I am.
“Yet if it hadn’t been for those years with Little, Brown, I wouldn’t have been part of this amazing White House book. It was my old colleague and friend, Hilary Van Dusen, who contacted me about the project. She wanted to include a piece on sports and the presidency. She knew I was tapped into the sports scene because I had edited many of Matt Christopher’s sports books while at Little, Brown—and more recently, had been ghostwriting them.
“In the course of my research for the piece, I learned that many U.S. presidents had ties to the baseball, starting as far back as George Washington. But the story that stuck with me was the one that now appears in the book – the first World Series game to take place after the tragic events of 9/11, and George W. Bush’s throwing of the game’s first pitch.
“Perhaps this explains the surprised reactions I receive when I tell people that I write children’s books. ‘You do? Really?’ their raised eyebrows and open mouths seem to say. Then come the usual questions: ‘Have you ever been published? Would I know anything you’ve done?’
“I have, and I certainly hope you recognize the titles of some of my books. (If not, feel free to pick one up sometime—or two, or three . . .)
“That I am able to spend my days at such work is, on the whole, wonderful. I lose myself for hours in imagined scenarios, made-up people, or buried in research into a fascinating topic. I’m here when my kids and husband need me and can take a day off when I need some ‘me’ time. Sometimes I miss the office life I had years ago, when I was an editor at Little, Brown Children’s Books. Then I compare my commute then (a long ride on public transportation) versus now (a short climb up a flight of stairs) and realize just how lucky I am.
“Yet if it hadn’t been for those years with Little, Brown, I wouldn’t have been part of this amazing White House book. It was my old colleague and friend, Hilary Van Dusen, who contacted me about the project. She wanted to include a piece on sports and the presidency. She knew I was tapped into the sports scene because I had edited many of Matt Christopher’s sports books while at Little, Brown—and more recently, had been ghostwriting them.
“In the course of my research for the piece, I learned that many U.S. presidents had ties to the baseball, starting as far back as George Washington. But the story that stuck with me was the one that now appears in the book – the first World Series game to take place after the tragic events of 9/11, and George W. Bush’s throwing of the game’s first pitch.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 31, 2018
I always enjoyed thinking about how a tortoise could outsmart a rabbit so I was interested to see how this one would play out. The classic fable gets a modern refurbishing as Shelly the Tortoise bests Hunter the Hare through her own persistence and attention to detail. Because she wants to win the battle among the robots, she spends a great deal of time tinkering with her invention while her opponent lazes around and even dares to use Shelly's failed attempts. But Shelly is one determined creature, and she uses her knowledge of her invention to help her win the competition in stylish but definitive fashion. The updated version of the story and the graphic novel format spell success for this book as many young readers will enjoy those aspects of the story. While I prefer the classic one, this one has its uses.
June 29, 2018
Every year at the Springtime Jamboree there's a competition. And every year Hazard Hare comes in first. And every year Shelly the Tortoise comes in last. But this year's competition is a robot battle and Shelly is a tech wizard while Hazard Hare is lazy. She is sure that slow and steady work will win her this battle finally.
A very fun modern take on the classic fable. I like the robot battle adaptation to make this more a battle of wits than even the original. A quick and fun read for techy kids and reluctant middle grade readers. Also a fun story to include in a fables unit.
Notes on content: Nothing hurt except some robots.
A very fun modern take on the classic fable. I like the robot battle adaptation to make this more a battle of wits than even the original. A quick and fun read for techy kids and reluctant middle grade readers. Also a fun story to include in a fables unit.
Notes on content: Nothing hurt except some robots.
December 1, 2024
For what this is, this is basically perfect. In A world of anthropomorphized animals, at every annual faire, they hold a different special event and every year, Hunter the Hare always wins. This year is a build-your-own robot battle, and Shelly the Totoise thinks she has a chance. She builds a robot based Hunter--fast, jumpy--but she can't control it. Instead, Hunter takes it himself, and she builds a more tortoise-like robot for herself.
My daughter really liked this one. She read it out loud to me a bunch of times.
My daughter really liked this one. She read it out loud to me a bunch of times.
January 13, 2018
A fun retelling of the Aesop's classic fable. Kids enjoy it.
July 13, 2019
Great for gamers.
March 7, 2020
While I like the premise of the whole Far out series and the graphics are really nice, the story is just not good enough (even when taking into consideration the limitations of the original fable).
May 24, 2023
It was cute. I don’t know if transposing the setting added anything.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews