The Lion & the Mouse By Jerry Pinkney

About Book

Title: The Lion and the Mouse
Author & Illustrator: Jerry Pinkey
Genre: Traditional Lit., Folk Tales, Fable, Fiction
Major Book Awards: 2010 Caldecott Medal
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Appropriate Grade Levels: Pre-k to 1st

Summary

This wordless picture book written by Jerry Pinkney recreates one of Aesop's fable, The Lion & the Mouse. In this book it talks about a big lion and a small mouse's encounter when the mouse accidentally woke up a sleeping lion. The lion then picks up the mouse and decides whether or not it wants to eat it.  Fortunately, the mouse was let go. The lion then saw some hunters setting up a trap and decided to warn everyone to be aware. Without noticing, the lion tripped on a rope and was trapped. As the lion roars for help, the mouse was seen coming to the rescue. Surprised as the lion seems, the mouse was able to nibble on the ropes and finally set the lion free. 

Evaluation - Would I Incorporate this in the Classroom?           

This was a pretty nice picture book. Although it was wordless, it does an amazing job of telling the story. The illustrations were nicely thought out and looked realistic. I also liked that although it was a picture book, there were words to depict the sounds that the animals make. I would incorporate this book in the classroom and add it to my collection of wordless picture books, for grades pre-k to 1st. It'll probably be a format that not all children are familiar with, since a book usually tells a story with words and sentences. This type of book will definitely introduce a different concept to young children. It will also strengthen their literacy/comprehension and storytelling skills as students are encouraged to look at the pictures and infer what is going on in the story. I can practice by asking students during read aloud to summarize or tell me what is happening in the story so far in their POV. This book teaches students that even though someone or maybe something that is smaller does not mean it's not helpful, valuable, or important. Because the little things in life are what matters the most and that kindness comes in all shapes and sizes. We can also do some fun coloring of the animals as well, at the end.