The Lion & The Mouse (Book)

Pinkey, J. (2009). The lion & the mouse. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-0-316-01356-7

Interest Level: Ages 8 and under
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Folk Tales, Stories without Words, Cooperation,

Plot: Without the use of words, the pictures in this story retell Aesop's classic tale of the lion and the mouse.  The only text is a few scattered animal sounds in the background.  This tale is set in a more modern animal preserve in the African Serengeti.  The mouse, running from an owl, gets captured by a lion.  The mouse is let go by the lion and returns to its baby filled nest.  Hunters arrive and set a trap for the lion.  The lion is caught in their net.  The mouse hearing the lion's roar runs to the lion and chews through the ropes freeing the lion.  The story ends with the mouse taking a piece of the rope back to its nest for the baby mice to chew on.

Personal Thoughts: The lack of words in this story only make the meaning behind it sweeter.  The animals and the background are all realistically drawn.  The body language and facial expressions on the lion are life-like showing grumpiness at being awaken, curiosity in the mouse, pride when walking around, startlement at being caught and gratitude towards the mouse.  I can almost see the mouse actually scurrying across the pages from one place to another.  So wonderfully done, its no surprise why it was choosen as a Caldecott Award Winner.  Definitely a Must See Book for any age!  Great for children to browse through on their own. A possible lesson plan would be to have children write their own dialog for the story.

Awards/Recognition:
ALA Notable Children's Books - All Ages Category (2010)
Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Young Readers Category (2009)
Caldecott Medal (2010)
Indies' Choice Book Awards: Children's Illustrated (2010)
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books (2009)
Parents' Choice Awards - Picture Books (2009)
School Library Journal Best Books (2009)

Other Books by Author: Three Little Kittens (2010); The Ugly Duckling (1999); The all-I'll-ever-want Christmas doll (2010)