Frog Fables & Beaver Tales

by Stanley Burke, Roy Peterson (Illustrator)

Earnest and industrious Beavers, funloving but discontented Frogs, a Lobster named Lugubrious J. Standfast and a wonderful Frog leader are some of the characters in this mythical tale about a Swamp named Canada.
This delightfully illustrated and satirically sharp review of Canadian history in the late 1960s and early 1970s features some familiar faces--Lester B. Pearson, Richard Nixon, Rene Levesque, the immaculate chief-frog (chief beaver?) Pierre Trudeau--evolved slightly to survive in Swamp conditions.
Frog Fables & Beaver Tales is a clever, hilarious souvenir of a particularly vibrant period in Canadian politics.

Genres: Humor, Fiction

45 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could anything improve on Roy Peterson's drawing of Pierre ..er.. Peter Waterhole at the height of his appeal? Of course not! and the squirrel flying in with the news that "The Chief Eagle has fallen and ruptured himself!" could scarcely be bettered.
Frogs as the Quebecois is a little too pat since I think we'd agree that they represent sophisticated Parisian French rather than provincial and mostly (especially in the early 70s) rural Quebecois. Still, the beavers with their work ethic and complacent acceptance of the eternal justice of their owning of the dam and getting no gratitude after having done so much for everyone else is just too perfect for words. Love the self satisfied beaver sitting in his comfortable lodge with his glass of poplar juice. and the square of birch bark with a maple leaf stitched on it is so obvious for Canada's new flag. Still love this series of "picture" book histories of Canada in the crazy 70s.

[Susanna Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It may look like a children's book, but it is a political satire on Canadian politics in the 1960s-70s. I am a history major, and I am wondering why I never read this before! It explains the history of Canadian politics better than a textbook. If you pay close attention and do some research if necessary, you'll get all the references and realize how hilarious - and accurate - this is. Also, pay close attention to the illustrations: they give hints as to who each character is (and keep an eye out for the ever-present eagle spying on the happenings of the swamp.)

To conclude, Stanley Burke and Roy Peterson were absolute geniuses and, if you ever want to know about Canadian history in the 1960s-70s, this is a perfect way to learn that will both inform and make you laugh out loud.

[Blaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Well done satire on the Canadian-American relationship in the seventies. Some things never change. I was always a fan of Stanley Burke when he was a news correspondent and he shows his political wit in this book, which is part of a series.

[~Sara~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I had a vague idea what this story was about, having been born in 1979, many of the finer details were lost on me. The illustrations were spectacular though, and were what prompted me to purchase the series when I saw them at my library book sale.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

a Great addition to frog book collection