The Ant and the Grasshopper

Animated by Soup2Nuts, this latest adaptation from daughter/father team Rebecca and Ed Emberley is based on their 2012 picture book. Featuring narration and an über-jazzy soundtrack by Louisiana-based blues musician Chris Thomas King, the classic fable is here updated with vivid greens, bright blues, and day-glo pinks and orange as a girl-ant struggling with picnic remains on a humid day meets a hip grasshopper and his buggy boogie band. “Come groove with us!” says the grasshopper—who calls the ant “baby”—but since she's in a hurry to get back to the colony, the gang (including beetle, dragonfly, and bee musicians) follow along, and provide music for a cool underground party. Offering a funky twist on a well-known tale, extras include a read-along option. Highly recommended. Aud: K, P. (J. Williams-Wood)