Lion and the Mouse By: Jerry Pinkney

The Lion and the Mouse has been a traditional story for quite sometime now. Despite this Jerry Pinkney is able to create almost a new story with his version. Using no words (aside from some sound effects) Pinkney tells the great story of The Lion and the Mouse through illustrations. This is what initially drew me to Pinkney's version of the story! I have noticed in stories before just how much emotion illustrators can convict, but I was curious to see if this could be done where no words were used. After reading the story I realized not only could the illustrations convey emotion, they left so much room for the imagination I almost felt more. Having only illustrations for context, it is difficult to just scan through the story missing different parts, because the photos are necessary. Pinkney does a fabulous job of putting each ounce of emotion a character is feeling into the illustrations. The change in emotion is felt and visible throughout every part of the story.

Below is a chart with further elaboration of the story:

My Reading Response Making my thinking visible Lion and the Mouse  By: Jerry Pinkney  Madelyn Ingegno Children's Literature	Creates Mind Pictures/Visualizes ·         The language creates visual images in my mind by describing the events occurring. The author’s use of the vivid illustrations let my mind know exactly what is happening in the story. Also how the author describes the sound things make such as the “putt-putt” of the jeep also makes the story come to life. ·         The use of language also created the characters in my mind. The photos of the lion and the mouse let me know exactly how they look. ·         The eyes of the creatures though tell me so much. In each scene I can feel the emotion of the animals changing. Like when the lion is trapped the fear in his eyes is apparent.
Summaries/Synthesizes ·       The important things I am looking in the story begin with the character description and the first encounter of the lion and mouse, but then develop to the trouble the lion is in. ·       The book is mostly about how to unlike characters work together and how someone smaller helps someone who does not believe they need it. ·       My favorite character throughout the story is the lion because of the kindness he displays immediately at the beginning of the story when he lets the mouse go.	Makes Connections ·         The book reminds me of my own life in the sense that I have had to ask people of all sorts for help before. There has been many times in my life where someone has helped me in a way or taught me something that I did not think was possible. ·         The book reminds me of what happens in the world daily because often the big or rich people can forget about those below them, until they need them. So it is important to always be kind and help everyone. ·         I think it also relates to the world because sometimes people forget to care about someone until they need the person. The book reminded me to always care about everyone not just when I need their help.
Offers Opinion ·         I really enjoyed the story. Ever since I was a little girl I have. I feel it delivers an important message that can be easily forgotten. ·         I read this book again to remember any detail I forgot. I also feel it is a story that cannot be heard too much. It has a great message that is important to remember. ·         I will recommend this book to a friend because anyone can benefit from the lesson it teaches. The story is heartfelt and relatable to all sorts of individuals. ·         My favorite part of the book is the respect the lion gains for the mouse after the mouse helps the lion. I love to watch characters opinions and perspectives change.	Critiques ·         I think the author did a good job of following the structure for the genre. ·         The author set up the characters and the setting of the strong to begin with. He showed the opinions of the lion strongly enough, as well as the mouse. ·         The author then had the lion face conflict where no help was around. The author did not have the mouse show up immediately, to create a sense of wonder in the reading. When the mouse did show up, curiosity was again created in the reader. ·         I completely agree with the way the author express the meaning of the book. I think he did a good job illustrating his point he wanted to get across. The author made his point clear without being to blunt, so the reader did not lose some of the meaning.
Identifies Theme/Main Idea ·         The author’s message is to always help others because you do not know when you will need them. ·         The author got his point across by having the lion set the scared mouse free, and then the mouse later rescuing the lion. ·         I think the message hits home because if the lion had never set the mouse free, the lion would have never been released from the trap.	Wondering, Making Predictions, Inferences ·         I wonder what exactly caused the lion to let the mouse go in the beginning of the story. ·         I think the only reason the lion was able to be saved was because he let the mouse free. ·         I know this to be mostly true because no one else came by to help the lion while he was captured. ·         This means the lion saved himself by saving the mouse. It also means to always help others. ·         The mood in the book constantly changes throughout the story, but for me it overall had the feeling to always help others.