The Lion & the Mouse (Caldecott Medal Winner)

by Jerry Pinkney

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Brought to vibrant life courtesy of Jerry Pinkney, this classic fable teaches the importance of every ounce of kindness, and just how far it can go.

Winner of the Caldecott Medal

This New York Times bestselling and award-winning fable of compassion and kindness, as reimagined by legendary artist Jerry Pinkney, is an essential addition to any bookshelf of children’s classics.

In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.

Don’t miss these other classic retellings by Pinkney:
The Little Mermaid
The Grasshopper and the Ants
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Little Red Riding Hood
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316013567
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/01/2009
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Jerry Pinkney (1939-2021) was one of the most heralded children's book illustrators of all time and illustrated more than 100 books. He had the rare distinction of being the recipient of five Caldecott Honors and the winner of the 2010 Caldecott Medal for The Lion and the Mouse, and created several companion books: The Tortoise & the Hare, The Grasshopper & the Ants, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and The Little Mermaid. He won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award five times and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor four times. Jerry received several major lifetime achievement awards and was also the first children's book illustrator elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lived with his wife, author Gloria Jean Pinkney, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Lion and the Mouse:
A New York Times Bestseller
2010 Caldecott Medal Winner
Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine 100 Greatest Books for Kids
Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine Most Beautifully Illustrated

* "Pinkney enriches this classic tale of friendship with another universal theme - family - affectingly illustrated in several scenes as well as in the back endpapers... African species grace splendid panoramas that balance the many finely detailed, closeup images of the protagonists. Pinkney has no need for words; his art speaks eloquently for itself."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "A nearly wordless exploration of Aesop's fable of symbiotic mercy that is nothing short of masterful... Unimpeachable."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Pinkney's luminous art, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, suggests a natural harmony... 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."—School Library Journal, starred review

* "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... It will be a challenge for libraries to make every gorgeous surface available, but it's a challenge worth taking on."—The Horn Book, starred review

"Here, Pinkney is audacious, courageous, or simply imaginative enough to retell the classic Aesop fable without text... As a master of the media, [he] handles pencil and transparent watercolors with added colored pencils to create naturalistic characters while avoiding the strictures of photorealism. This is a stunning tour de force."—Children's Literature

"This version of the familiar Aesop's fable—lushly illustrated and set in Africa's Serengeti region—offers a unique, and memorable, concluding twist."—The Washington Post

"A child will get lost in the illustrations and grow old with this beauty."—Verily Magazine

"A delightful, old-fashioned version of the tale. With lively detail...the pictures reflect the danger and coziness, and are just right for their preschool audience."—Booklist

"An attractive take on the familiar folktale, particularly appropriate for groups."—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

* "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... It will be a challenge for libraries to make every gorgeous surface available, but it's a challenge worth taking on."

The Horn Book

Sometimes acts of kindness require no words at all. Jerry Pinkney's Lion & the Mouse gracefully proves that point by wordlessly retelling Aesop's timeless fable about an odd animal couple who built a friendship. A most valuable playgroup lesson for kind hearts.

…[a] beautiful new rendition of…Aesop's fable…Readers unfamiliar with the tale will easily understand it from the carefully sequenced images; those who have already encountered it will experience it anew.
—The Washington Post

Kristi Jemtegaard

The art of Jerry Pinkney's new picture book is commanding enough to do without the author's name or even the title on the front cover…Winner of five Caldecott Honors, Pinkney has always seemed happier drawing animals than people. Look, in his 2007 retelling, at his studied Little Red Riding Hood next to his lively Wolf. His beasts are not humans in disguise; while both the lion and the mouse have emotions and intelligence in their eyes, they are animal in nature. We don't know why the lion lets the mouse go free or why the mouse nibbles the lion out of the net planted by the men (poachers? wardens?) from the jeep. But it's actions in this case that count. That's the moral of the story.
—The New York Times

Roger Sutton

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)

Kirkus Reviews