Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion & the Mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers, 2009. Picture book. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0316013567. Ages 1 and up. Official website: http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/frameset.html
Wordless adaptation of Aesop's wordless classic fable. contrary to his animal nature, a ferocious lion lets a mouse, that he intended to eat, live. Later in the story, the same mouse frees the lion from a poacher's trap.
I love this classic story and adaptation. The adaptation is perfect. It doesn't try to rewrite the story. Instead, it adds beautiful visual elements and really brings the story visually to life. The pictures are wordless with the exception of sound effects (the owl who whooping and screeching/ the lion roaring) which make this story more realistic and like a natural experience of observation which adds significant experiential power to this version. The author's note about sounds expresses this effect perfectly. "... That chorus of chatters and squeals helped shape the idea of selectively using animal sounds to gently enhance the story, while allowing the visuals- as well as the reader's imagination- to drive the narrative." (Jerry Pinkney, Artist's Note, back cover).
The luminous illustrations, watercolor and colored pencil, are truly beautiful and capture the African Serengeti. In a interview about this book (see youtube clip below), Jerry Pinkney mentions that the mouse and lion are larger in proportion than in realistically because they are two creatures very large in heart. This is a heart-filled story that carries very important morals to young readers/ viewers.
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