The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

In this wordless retelling of the the fable The Lion & the Mouse with Pinkney's amazing illustrations.

The mouse accidentally stumbles onto a lion who spares his life. When the lion is captured by poachers, the mouse returns the favor by chewing through the rope and setting him free.


What I Thought:
I'm calling it now. This book should be in the running for the Caldecott. The illustrations are simply wonderful. If the stunning cover does not take your breathe away, you won't need to go past the endpapers!

Pinkney did a simply amazing job telling the story through his illustrations while adding plenty of additional details. The story is set in the African Serengeti and readers can spend lots of time on each page exploring the landscape and searching out animals placed throughout.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how Pinkney gave such emotional expressions to the lion and the mouse. The attention to detail shows that Pinkney's work is nothing short of pure genius.

Run, don't walk to your nearest library or bookseller to get your hands on this work today! You won't be sorry!

The book also includes an illustrator's note that explains the fable further and why Pinkney chose the geographic setting of the African Serengeti, as well as why he chose this fable to retell.

Very highly recommended, for all ages!


Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.

Reviewed from a library copy, but this is one on my "to buy" list!