The Lion and the Mouse- 2010 Caldecott Medal Winner- Picture Book #3

The Book
Pinkney, J. (2009). The Lion and the Mouse. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Summary
The Lion and the Mouse is a wordless picture book that depicts one of Aesop's fables. The fable is about a lion and a mouse and the kindness they show one another, despite their large differences. One day the mouse accidentally takes refuge upon a lion while fleeing from an owl, the lion then discovers the mouse and lets him go free instead of devouring him like most lions would.  Later on in the story the mouse repays his dues to the lion by freeing him from a trap set by poachers.  This story tells of compassion and karma, as it is showing that if you do something kind for someone the kindness is usually repaid.

Response
I think this book is an amazing book to show children the power of illustrations and that you don't always need words to tell a story. The only words used in this story are ones used to accentuate the sounds made by different things, such as putt-putt-putt for the jeep and squeak, squeak, squeak for the mouse. I really  enjoyed this book for it's illustrations and the naturalistic sounds it used as add ins to the story and I think children would enjoy it for this reason too. This story has a really good moral and I think readers of all ages could be inspired by it and see that it isn't the size of the creature that matters but the size of their actions and the compassion they show one another. This is shown when the huge, powerful lion is saved by the little tiny mouse which I think also illustrates that actions of kindness can go a long way and that if you are kind to others the kindess will generally be returned. I really enjoyed how this book was put together and the message it sends to it's reader, I find it very inspirational and love the beautiful illustrations it uses to tell the story.

Awards received/ Reader's advisory information
The Lion and the Mouse is the 2010 Caldecott Medal Winner. The theme of this book is how kindness can go a long way no matter your size or stature and the illustrations do an amazing job of portraying the beauty of the animal kingdom in it's natural habitat. This would be a great book for all ages but I think it is aimed more towards early readers and children around 3-8 years old.