Stories for a Fragile Planet

Ten traditional and traditional-style tales retold for younger readers. Steven takes stories reflecting experience from around the world, encompassing different cultures, times and ethical beliefs, and spins them slightly to reflect our current concern with the long-term environmental health of our planet.

The tales centre around our relationship with animals, plants and the seasons, but the final tale focuses on man, through the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, highlighting the differences between us which have arisen and which threaten the planet.

These tales are written for telling out loud, and more background information for adults using them would have been welcome.  However Ray's archetypical large, detailed, evocative images place each story in its context and illuminate every page.