Lion & the Mouse - Hardcover

Jerry Pinkney

4.22

24,192 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140632759X ISBN 13: 9781406327595

Publisher: Walker & Company, 2010

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This is a stunning, wordless version of one of Aesop's best-loved fables, from one of America's most acclaimed artists. This Aesop's fable is a favourite and familiar one: a mouse inadvertently disturbs a lion, who lets the mouse go...and is later himself freed by the mouse from a poacher's trap. Jerry Pinkney's jaw-droppingly gorgeous new wordless treatment is irresistible, its wealth of visual detail offering huge scope for the pages to be turned and the story retold over and over again. It is spectacular.

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About the Author:

Jerry Pinkney is one of today's best-loved children's book makers. Over his 40-years career as an illustrator, he has received five Caldecott Honors and won the Coretta Scott King Award five times, as well as being nominated for the prestigious international Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in New York with his wife, the author Gloria Jean Pinkney.

From School Library Journal:

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3—This story starts on the cover with the glorious, golden countenance of a lion. No text is necessary to communicate the title: the direction of the beast's gaze and the conflicted expression on his tightly cropped face compel readers to turn the book over, where a mouse, almost filling the vertical space, glances back. The endpapers and artist's note place these creatures among the animal families of the African Serengeti. Each spread contributes something new in this nearly wordless narrative, including the title opening, on which the watchful rodent pauses, resting in one of the large footprints that marches across the gutter. In some scenes, Pinkney's luminous art, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, suggests a natural harmony, as when the cool blues of the sky are mirrored in the rocks and acacia tree. In other compositions, a cream-colored background focuses attention on the exquisitely detailed and nuanced forms of the two main characters. Varied perspectives and the judicious use of panels create interest and indicate time. Sounds are used sparingly and purposefully—an owl's hoot to hint at offstage danger or an anguished roar to alert the mouse of the lion's entrapment. Contrast this version with Pinkney's traditional treatment of the same story (complete with moral) in Aesop's Fables (North-South, 2000). The ambiguity that results from the lack of words in this version allows for a slower, subtle, and ultimately more satisfying read. Moments of humor and affection complement the drama. A classic tale from a consummate artist.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library END

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