The Ant or the Grasshopper? (Who's Got Game?)

I read it to my class of Grade 3's and 4's, they liked it, I felt that it was wanting on many levels - first of all, most kids nowadays can't read cursive, second, the story was lacking, third, yeah, the book was lacking generally, a story with not much direction, a shame from Toni Morrison

I liked the story, but the cursive font was very difficult to read.

What Nobel prize winner jumped the graphic novel craze in 2003 by publishing a children's book with her son written in graphic novel style? The writing is also verse or song. The art is charming. The story is a re-telling of the old fable, this time on whether to work on practical things or spend your time creating song. What is this truly great writer and her son's conclusion? Well, you'll have to read it. We have now lost both writers, and this book, not as famous as her novels, is still blazingly original.

I began this review responding to someone who gave the book one star because I felt so strongly the opposite. So, let me add my points here too:The great thing about this book is that it is balanced and each of the characters has a grain of truth in his point of view. There is an astounding amount of subtlety amidst the energetic rhyming and classic elements of the tale. The character who is the artist (grasshopper) is tearful and only begins making his strident argument when his pride gets the best of him. There is a twist in that the ant looks back out sadly at his friend as well and we see that his wife appears pregnant -- so he has a good reason to be careful with his resources. Yet, the ant is not compassionate -- his downfall. The grasshopper's downfall is obvious, he is homeless and has himself to blame. Yet, he argue that he and his work are not worthless. And this is just my take on it -- the great thing about the book is that there are multiple legitimate conclusions one could come to. I think that the strength of the book is that some people will response in favor of one of the characters and others will have the opposite point of view. I am all for letting kids think and come to their own conclusions, debates, and discussions. To me, adding the starving artist theme to the tale is a significant and valuable update on the Aesop's fable -- and that is not an easy accomplishment to make!

An absolutely amazing book for children and adults. This book is thought provoking and has a wonderful message about the appreciation of artists. My four year old son and I love this book and it has quickly become one of our favorite bedtime stories. the rhyme and rhythm of the book make it a fun read as well.

A good story to help children learn about bullying behaviors & to illustrate that a little power can certainly go to one's head with disasterous results.

It's ok to have an appreciation for the arts. What's NOT ok is the author's message to kids that it's ok to completely cast aside your responsibility to provide for yourself in the pursuit of your dream of being an artist. What would have been a better twist on this story is that in the end the ant was not only a responsible citizen but an artist as well. I don't recommend this version. Stick with the original Aesop's fable version. ART IS WORK but if nobody wants to buy it then you better be able to eat it.