The Lion and the Mouse reviewed by Danya-Wordless Picture Book

Genre: Wordless Picture Book

The Lion and the Mouse

Jerry Pinkney

Reviewed by Danya

The beautiful illustrations in this wordless picture book create an opportunity for students of all ages, but especially primary age students, to think deeply about compassion, empathy, kindness, and the good that comes from helping one another. The story follows the common Aesop’s fable, however the benefit of this being a wordless picture book is that students can generate their own ideas and dialogue about what they see in each picture. The only text within the book is that of sounds within the story. For example, “putt-putt-putt” coming from a jeep heading through the wild terrain, “roarrrrr” coming from the lion, or “scratch, scratch,” coming from the mouse gnawing at some rope. Though the sound effect text adds a nice touch to the story, I don’t find it especially crucial to one’s understanding of the story. Young kids and people of all ages alike will enjoy the story through pictures and hopefully gain a better understanding of how kindness makes the world go round.

Pinkey does an excellent job with the illustrations in this book. Each page is a true work of art. His attention to detail in each page is exquisite. As my students and I flipped through the pages of this book, we found ourselves taking a couple minutes per page to truly take in each detail. Though the book does not clearly state what mediums were used, it appears to be watercolor and sketching. I highly recommend this book not only for its beautiful works of art, but also because of its strong central message.