Relationships in Children's Books: The Lion & The Mouse

Cover of The Lion & the Mouse

  
My grandson and I have a very special relationship. We both love a good story. So every Thursday we head to our local library for the summer reading program and check out children’s books for the Babies – 3-year-old level and ages 4-8. 

When I first looked at The Lion & The Mouse with my grandson, we just silently turned the pages looking at the beautiful watercolor illustrations of the scenery and characters by Jerry Pinkerton. For those of you who are familiar with the author, you know that he is a five-time recipient of both the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Award.

This particular book, The Lion & The Mouse, was this year’s Caldecott Medal winner. Jerry Pinkney’s wordless adaptation of one of Aesop’s most beloved fables encourages the art of storytelling. I have so much fun using my own words describing this unlikely pair’s relationship with one another. You see, King Lion needs help when he finds himself tangled in the net and his little friend, a mouse, proves to be a Great Friend.

Since the current theme on Qondio is Relationships,  I couldn’t help but reflect on this book plus the many cat and mice books that I discovered were at our library. Please feel free to add to this endless list:

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault

The Story of Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend by John Steptoe

Mice Twice by Joseph Low

Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse by Leo Lionni

Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown

Anatole and the Cat by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone

Lion by William Pène du Bois

The Lion Who Wanted to Love by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz

How Loud is a Lion? by Stella Blackstone and Clare Beaton

A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall

The Very Lazy Lion by Jack Tickle

Puss in Boots, by Charles Perrault , Fred Marcellino, and Malcolm Arthur

April's Kittens by Clare Turlay Newberry

Andy and the Lion by James Henry Daugherty

Figaro Cat Who Snored by Jean-Baptiste Baronian and Martina Kinder

Three Cat and Mouse Tales by Marilyn Helmer

Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel

That’s Not My Lion by Fiona Watt

Lilly's Big Day by Kevin Henkes

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

In The Lion & The Mouse, it just goes to show that “The Powerful” showed mercy and “The Weak” showed deliverance. Excellent book. 5 stars!

The Lion & the Mouse

-- LadyD


 “You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.” — C. S. Lewis