The Lion and the Mouse

Pinkney, J. (2009). The lion and the mouse. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Caldecott Medal Winner, 2010 

If the plot does not fit the traditional plot line, what plot line does the book illustrate?  Write a 5-6 sentence description of the book:

The Lion and the Mouse follows a nontraditional plot line as it portrays the timeless tale of the lion and the mouse from Aesop’s classic fable. The mouse avoids being caught by an owl and escapes down a hole in the ground, but later on it walks through the grasslands, and it is grabbed by a lion.  The lion studies the mouse in his paw and then with a smile on its face lets the mouse go, and it returns to its nest of babies.  Later on, the lion is trekking through the jungle when its paw is caught in a trap, and he is snatched up into a net in the treetops.  The mouse hears the lion’s roar and rushes to come to its aid.  The mouse chews and chews through the rope until the lion is finally set free, and the book ends as the mouse retrieves a knot from the rope and rushes it back to her babies. 

Picture books only (Was this a well illustrated book? Describe how it was or was not well-illustrated in 3 sentences.):  A sign of a good artist is one who can tell a story with only pictures and very few to no words.  Jerry Pinkney expertly retells Aesop’s fable using his stunning illustrations, which are only accompanied by a few animal calls.  He is able to wordlessly depict the interactions and friendship between the mouse and the lion, and the reader is still able to learn the timeless message Aesop taught in the original version of the story many years ago.