Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

There is a moral to every story, a lesson to be learned. Sometimes, however, we need to hear the story, perhaps even multiple times, to understand and appreciate the moral, the lesson. If we are told to “be kind, to expect kindness in return. If you are unkind, you cannot expect kindness in return,” we might nod and agree. But if we are told the story of the spotted tiger who saved a mouse from being eaten by a lion and the same mouse then turned around and saved the spotted tiger from the men who caught it, but didn’t save the lion, we would understand the concept more fully. Stories, fables, fairy tales all have a hidden meaning, a lesson that helps prepare young people for life, but also reinforces for adults what they should already know.

Lucas Hucher has taken three fairy tales and rewritten them to reinforce these important life lessons: do unto others, true beauty comes from within, and the importance of being yourself. All these important life lessons are similar, being true to yourself and believing in yourself, but each story takes a different perspective to allow the young reader to thoroughly digest the moral, the lesson, in its entirety. His little book, Fairy Tales and Fables, is charmingly presented with colorful photographs to accompany each story. As the spotted tiger, the blue jay and the raven learn their lessons, the plot develops in a way so that young readers can relate thoroughly to the message being presented.