'I am sure to win, but we will race if you like.' So laughs the hare when a slow tortoise challenges him to run all the way to the old cart. This picture book comes with the message that modesty and perseverance will always be rewarded. With the Fables of La Fontaine, Wildsmith turned Wordsmith, retelling the tales with a simplicity that enhances the complexity of the illustrations. In The Hare and the Tortoise, the animals are seen against dazzling, semi-abstract backgrounds, with pinks and purples dotted with shimmering, close-toned blobs of viridian green and cerulean blue that dance before your eyes.