#Booky100Keepers Day 21: "The Talkative Tortoise" by Andew Fusek-Peters and Charlotte Cooke (Child's Play)

Sometimes, author / illustrator teams can being a well-loved traditional tale to life in such an engaging way, that it outstrips and out-performs any other version of that story.

We have seen this many times with classic fables, and it's definitely the case with this version of "The Talkative Tortoise" by Andrew Fusek-Peters and Charlotte Cooke.

It's the story of how Tortoise became the biffed-up slow-moving creature he is today - but it wasn't always like that. Once Tortoise was a rather braggardly fellow, proud of his shiny shell with a motormouth that just wouldn't quit.

One winter, Tortoise's two best friends, in this case two extremely patient geese (their patience regularly tested by their mouthy friend) are set to migrate as the cold weather arrives.

Tortoise doesn't like the idea of being on his own, so has a massive tantrum - and in the end the geese agree to try and take tortoise with them.

They come up with a plan - if Tortoise can grip onto a stick with his mouth, they can carry him aloft - but he absolutely MUST NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH while they fly over the countryside.

Tortoise thinks this sounds like an absolute doddle. But you know Tortoise...and you can probably imagine what happens part-way through the story when Tortoise thinks the people below are laughing at him as he flies past with his winged pals.

Child's Play have been one of the publishers who have contributed so much to C's enjoyment of stories, with such a huge selection of fantastic stories from across the world, covering subjects that are quite often tricky to deal with in children's books - and you'll see them crop up several times in our retrospectives. This is a fine example of a fable done right, brought to life stunningly by Andrew and Charlotte.

Original Review Link: 

The Talkative Tortoise by Andrew Fusek Peters and Charlotte Cooke (Child's Play International Ltd)