TOUCHES OF AESOP AND KIPLING mark James Rumford's fable about two unlikely rivals.

Tiger says he saw the flower first, but Turtle disagrees. Through pages of glorious color, Tiger and Turtle continue their argument. They're worthy opponents . . . as a tiger's claws could not harm a turtle's shell any more than a turtle's feet could outrun a tiger's. The battle intensifies, as does the artist's palette: from golds to fiery reds to luxuriant blues, as the two resolve their conflict and become friends.

Tiger and Turtle is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.