Traditional Literature Review: The Lion and The Mouse By Jerry Pinkey

Book 4:

Traditional Literature Review: The Lion and The Mouse By Jerry Pinkey

Bibliography

Pinkney, J. (2009). THE LION AND THE MOUSE. Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-329-77131-7

Plot Summary

The Lion and the Mouse is a classic fable retold and beautifully illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. The story revolves around a powerful lion and a tiny mouse, unlikely friends whose fates rely on an act of kindness. In the tale, a mighty lion captures a small mouse, intending to make a meal out of it. However, the mouse pleads for its life, promising to repay the lion's mercy someday. Eventually the lion decides to let it go, believing that such a tiny creature could never be of any help to him. Later, the lion finds himself trapped in a hunter's net, unable to break free despite his strength and struggles. Hearing the lion's cry, the mouse rushes to the scene. Using its sharp teeth, the mouse bites through the ropes of the net, setting the lion free.

Critical Analysis

This is an interesting retelling of the classic Aesop’s fable that wonderfully showcases the power of kindness and the importance of compassion. The lion being grateful and humbled by the mouse's actions, the lion realizes the value of even the smallest creatures and acknowledges the truth in the mouse's earlier words. From that day forward, the lion and the mouse become true friends, promising to help each other whenever needed. This shows readers unlikely friends can still be great friends. Overall, "The Lion and the Mouse" is a timeless tale that teaches readers of all ages the importance of compassion, friendship, and the idea that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Review Excerpts

Kirkus Reviews starred (August 1, 2009)

A nearly wordless exploration of Aesop’s fable of symbiotic mercy that is nothing short of masterful. A mouse, narrowly escaping an owl at dawn, skitters up what prove to be a male lion’s tail and back. Lion releases Mouse in a moment of bemused gentility and–when subsequently ensnared in a poacher’s rope trap–reaps the benefit thereof. Pinkney successfully blends anthropomorphism and realism, depicting Lion’s massive paws and Mouse’s pink inner ears along with expressions encompassing the quizzical, hapless, and nearly smiling. He plays, too, with perspective, alternating foreground views of Mouse amid tall grasses with layered panoramas of the Serengeti plain and its multitudinous wildlife. Mouse, befitting her courage, is often depicted heroically large relative to Lion. Spreads in watercolor and pencil employ a palette of glowing amber, mouse-brown and blue green. Artist-rendered display type ranges from a protracted “RRROAARRRRRRRRR” to nine petite squeaks from as many mouselings. If the five cubs in the back endpapers are a surprise, the mouse family of ten, perched on the ridge of father lion’s back, is sheer delight. Unimpeachable. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6). Taken from the Hardcover.

Horn Book Magazine (November/December, 2009)

By retelling Aesop’s fable entirely in his signature pencil and watercolor art, Pinkney encourages closer exploration of the pleasing detail with which he amplifies it. The mouse has just escaped an owl when she makes the mistake of running up the lion’s back; his decision to let her go, over three full spreads, is all the more eloquent for being wordless. Her dauntless attack on the white hunters’ densely knotted rope trap, in which the lion is caught, is related via numerous smaller frames; successfully, the mouse takes one tough knot home to her young (as a toy? Or to tell them her story?). On every page, this beautiful book suggests even more than it tells about its real setting, and about that fabulous world where such bargains are made and such rescues may happen. It’s a generous rendition: there are character-revealing portraits of the protagonists, unencumbered by text, on the jacket (a regal lion, sumptuous with golden mane, glances anxiously from the front; the doughty mouse, wide-eyed with intelligence, is on the back). On the front of the book itself is a second pair of telling portraits in lieu of a title; there’s an African Peaceable Kingdom on the back. One endpaper celebrates the animal-crowded Serengeti setting: the second rounds out the story with the lion and mouse families on a shared outing. It will be a challenge for libraries to make every gorgeous surface available, but it’s a challenge worth taking on. Artist’s note appended. Taken from the Hardcover.

Connections

This book can be used to teach students “Theme”.

This book reminds all of the power of compassion, regardless of our size or stature.

Books on Unlikely Friendships:

Feuti, N. (2020). Beak & Ally: Unlikely Friends. HarperCollins.



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