1955 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Pamphlet. Livre-Disque: Philips. $9 from Francine Juneau, Montreal, through eBay, Oct. '02. 

Here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I see by the back cover that there are four volumes of La Fontaine. Now I have to find the other three! I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.

1957 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 2. Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $9.95 from endingsandbeginnings, through eBay, August, '05.

Here is Volume Two, found three years after I found Volume One, published in 1955. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables. It is not clear what role Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet play. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. Be careful! The record jacket is open on the bottom. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. The back cover of Volume One seemed to indicate four volumes in the set. This back cover shows only two. I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.

1960? Fables de la Fontaine, Volume IV. Read by members of Comédie Française. Microgroove Records FRL 1525. Bernard Lebow: Dust jacket printed in the USA. $4 from Stephane St-Arnaud, Montreal, Canada, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

There are eight favorite La Fontaine fables on the Side A and six on Side B. This record seems to have been produced in this country. The dust jacket is in English.

1961 Animal Stories of Aesop. Narrated by Sterling Holloway. Disneyland Record DQ 1221. Walt Disney Productions. $2, Summer, '89. Extra copy for $2 from Coin Corner and Hobbies, Oregon City, OR, through Ebay, March, '99. Third copy from an unknown source.

One reader with occasional interruptions from kids and a bit of music. Versions are on the sentimental side. AL (six minutes), AD (four minutes), OF (six minutes), "The Lion and the Goat" (three minutes), and FG (four minutes). The countercultural ant likes to sing, and so gets thirsty. The best fable features the (father) frog and the ox. "The Lion and the Goat" has a scratch and repeats on the original '89 copy. The fox passes up many grapes to get the best; the story runs to too much length.

1962? The Fox and the Grapes/The City Mouse and the Country Mouse. 78 RPM record 6" in diameter. Narrated by June Winters and the Speartones. Lionel 49730-114, Fairy Tales 3. $4.99 from Anthony Testa, Le Roy, NY, through Ebay, Jan., '01.

Lionel made recordings for kids?! In fact they made at least fourteen of them for 45 RPM, one of which offered fables, and twenty-five in 78 RPM, two of which presented fables. Now to look for those other two!

1964? the tortoise and the hare/the little white duck. 45 rpm Mr. Pickwick Extended Play Record. No singers or composer acknowledged. Woodbury, NY: Pickwick International. $.05 at flea market, 1991.

TH lasts 3:21. It seems like vintage "Hit Paraders" music: cute, silly, bubbly, harmless. If there were not a zip code on the jacket, I would have guessed the date of production to be 10 years earlier. The rabbit in this version keeps thinking he can always catch up, and he enjoys many diversions.

1965 Aesop's Fables the Smothers Brothers Way. Words and Music by John McCarthy. Arranged and Produced by David Carroll. The Smothers Brothers. Mercury Records SR 60989. MG 20989. $12 at Yesterday's Memories Book & Record Store, Feb., 1987. Extra copy for $7.50 from Martin D. McKay, Cambridge, OH, through Ebay, Feb., '99.

Clever working of songs into a typical Smothers Brothers routine, with lots of nonsense included. The fables are respected by and large. Tommy howls and gets into it, and sometimes the moral comes through. See the same material on a compact disk.

1965? Aesop's Best Known Fables. Featuring the Regency Players. Talespinners for Children. UAC 11068. Los Angeles, CA: Liberty/UA, Inc. Sunset Records. Entertainment from Transamerica Corporation. $4.99 from Robert Beckley Newton, MS, through Ebay, May, '00.

From the jacket, it appears that each side presents three groupings of three fables each. Each grouping lasts between three and about five minutes.

1965? Aesop's Fables. Narrated by Burgess Meredith. Arranged and Conducted by Reg Owen and Wally Stott. NY: Golden Records LP 152. $5 from Robin Chaney, Schoolcraft, MI, through Ebay, Oct., '99.

Side One is devoted to TH, and Side Two to FC. This record originally cost only $1.98.

1967 Aesop's Fables. Read by Boris Karloff. Directed by Howard Sackler. NY: Caedmon. Gift of Pat Donnelly from the Milwaukee Public Library, June, '93.

Twenty-one fables on each side. Karloff's reading is sensitive but surprisingly low-keyed. The texts, whose author I cannot identify, seem classic, pithy, well expressed. This record is not as clear as the audio cassette of the same production.

1967? Aesop's Fables. "The Rabbit and the Turtle" plus 32 other fables for the delight and development of children. Sung by Judy Stewart and Bob Ragaini. Mercury Playcraft PLP-1303. $7 from JLO West/Special Records, Universal City, CA, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

The Ebay seller writes that these fables are set into modern verse and provided with lively contemporary musical backgrounds.

1968 The Grasshopper and the Ants. 33 rpm long-playing record enclosed in the back flap of a booklet with the same title. Walt Disney Presents the Story (Side A, read by Robie Lester) and a Song (Side B, by L. Morey and L. Harline). Walt Disney Productions LLP-331. Included in the booklet price of $4.50 at Old Bank Antiques, Hastings, March, '94. This record is kept with the book.

The last few minutes of the story's side are especially scratchy. This version differs slightly from the tape version I have under 1971/77. The song, "The World Owes Me a Living," does not follow the lyrics of Margaret Wise Brown's version (1939, reprinted in 1962 and 1993).

1969? In Due Time: Aesop's Fables. 33 rpm long-playing record. Chicago: Cadet Concept Records. LPS 323. $5 from Jads Jams, Safford, AZ, through Ebay, August, '99.

The back of the jacket calls this "Stereo Storybook" a "collection of latter day fables…musical tales that light upon life, love, loneliness…."

1970? Fables de La Fontaine. Read in French by Gerard Philipe, Julien Bertheau, Berthe Bovy, Georges Chamarat, Jacques Charon, and Yvonne Gaudeau. French and English bilingual text included. Caedmon TC 1211. $1 from Mel Grimes, Pacific Grove, CA, through Ebay, May, '00.

Though the fables are read in French, the extensive commentary on the jacket's back is in English. The French and English face each other in the accompanying large translation booklet.

1970? Fables of India. Told by Zia Mohyeddin. Music by Deben Bhattacharya. Directed by Howard Sackler. Caedmon TC 1168. Formerly property of the Johnson Camden Library, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. $15 from Judy Lewis, Morehead, KY, through Ebay, June, '99.

Side One features "The Brahmin and the Villain," "The Long-Eared Cat and the Vulture," "The Restless Pigeon and his Wife," and "The Camel and his Neighbor." Side Two has "The Adder and the Fox," "The Twin Parrots," "The Blue Jackal," "Good-Speed and the Elephant King," and "The Monkey's Heart." There is some commentary on the back of the jacket. This recording seems to be in a series with Caedmon's other recordings that I have found, including La Fontaine, Tolstoy, and Aesop as read by Boris Karloff.

1972 Disneyland Double Feature: Walt Disney Presents The Best Stories of Aesop and Animal Stories of Aesop. Both narrated by Sterling Holloway, with music composed and conducted by Camarata. Walt Disney Productions. Disneyland DDF-1. $4.99 from Teresa Vanwye, Indianapolis, IN, through Ebay, June, '00.

The second of the two records here is identical with the one produced by Disney in 1961. See my copies above. The first seems to follow the same format as the second, offering five fables: GGE, FC, and "The Hare and the Hound" on Side 1, with DM and TH on Side 2.

1972? Aesop's Fables. Book and Record Set. NY: Children's Records of America T 23552. $4 from Jean Lexington, El Dorado, AR, through Ebay, Sept., '00. Extra copy for $2 from Daryl Adkins, Dry Fork, VA, through Ebay, May, '99.

I had found the book half of this set twice earlier, and was surprised to find a book published by CBS records. Now I find the records, and they are not done by CBS! I will keep these books with the records and leave those two copies of the books with their respective collections. The presence of the book with the record in this set has one result, namely that the record jacket has almost no information about what is on the record!

1974 Leo Tolstoy: Fables and Fairy Tales. Read by Ian Richardson. Caedmon TC 1435. Formerly property of the Johnson Camden Library, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. $6.01 from Judy Lewis, Morehead, KY, through Ebay, June, '99. Extra copy for $7 from Eric Maloney, W. Peterborough, NH, through Ebay, June, '00.

Side One features twelve short fables, while Side Two seems to be given to two fairy tales. Paul Kresh offers an introduction on the back of the jacket. Both copies seem to be in excellent condition.

1975? Aesop's Fables in song. George Mysels. Sung by Patricia DeLoughry and Clyde Sechler with Betty Ann McCall, Cordovox. Omni Sound N-194. Delaware Water Gap, PA: Shawnee Press, Inc. $9.99 from Paul Neil Anderson, Bellevue, NE, through Ebay, May, '01.

There are eleven and thirteen bands, respectively, on the two sides of this record. "Recommended for listening and singing in elementary schools and for family enjoyment by children of all ages."

1975? Aesop Fables. Art Director Tory Wolfe. Cover Illustration Marlyn Romero. Hollywood, FL: Kid Stuff Records KS053. $1 from Karen Podschun, Winfield, KS, through Ebay, Feb., '00.

Seven fables on each side. This approach to the record, including the jacket and its art, suggests that this may be among the simplest of the fable records I have found.

1980? Fables in Action. Author: Winifred Howard. Various speakers, musicians, and singers. Oklahoma City, OK: Melody House Recordings MH-21. $6 at Castalia Books in Berkeley, June, '89. Extra copy, formerly property of the Johnson Camden Library, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, for $2 from Judy Lewis, Morehead, KY, through Ebay, March, '99.

T of C on the back. Various instruments, sound effects, songs, and stories with different voices. The jacket suggests various activities for kids: barking, growling, roaring, gestures. Nice simple songs. Satisfactory for use with very small children. SW gets the bet wrong. "Ricky Rabbit and Tommy Turtle" makes nice use of Brahms' lullaby. The lion saves the man, not in the circus, but from an attacking tiger. The FC reader jumps from "Miss Caw" to "Miss Crow." Moral: "When you're pretending to do something big, you may do something silly." Four fables on each side.

1980? Les Fables de La Fontaine. Illustrées par des enfants et interprétées par l'imitateur Jean Valton à la manière des Grandes Vedettes. Pamphlet with a record. Printed in France. Series: Alors, Raconte… Paris: Dillard et Cie. $4 from Pierre Cantin, Chelsea, Quebec, through Ebay, Feb., '01. This record is kept with the book.

This square little presentation 7¼" square offers five delightful illustrations by children, the texts of six fables, and a 45 rpm record. The first of the illustrations is on the cover. La Fontaine writes seated under a tree, while various animals look on. Of the other four illustrations, I recommend especially FC. The other three present TH, GA, and OR. The record was produced by La Discotheque de Paris.

1983? Toucan Sam at the Big Race. Kellogg Company. $4 at a flea market about '95.

This is a paper-based record made to be played at 33 1/3 rpm. It shows a colorful illustration of Toucan Sam waving a checkered flag for the tortoise, who beats the hare to the finish line. I presume that this record came in a box of cereal.

1987? The Untold Fables: Aesop's Apocalypse. Engineer and Assistant Production by David Carey and Jim Dotson. Dionysus Records ID 123312. $5 from Kevin Wells, Seattle, WA, through Ebay, March, '99.

Side B offers "The Man and the Wooden God." Otherwise it may be hard to find the connection with Aesop or fable here. In case it is not clear to readers (as it was not to me), "The Untold Fables" is the name of the group.