The Lion & The Mouse

Bibliographic Information: Pinkney, J. (2009). The Lion & The Mouse. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Brief Annotation: A story of two unlikely friends, who help each other get out of sticky situations. Presented in illustrations, with only a few sound words to intensify the story.

Genre: Wordless Picturebook, Storybook

Grade Level: K - 5

Readers who will like this book: Anyone who enjoys beautiful illustrations and loves to create their own words for a story.

Rating/Response: 4 out of 4. The illustrations are gorgeous and express the emotion of the story clearly. The few words that are used (only sound words, such as "roar") serve to heighten the emotion.

One question I would ask before a read aloud: Do you have any friends that are very different from you?

10/40: Author's Chair, from 50 Literacy Strategies, by Gail E. Tompkins.

In this strategy, students sit in a special "Author's Chair" and read their own writing aloud to the class. After the student has finished reading, the other students are invited to make comments and ask questions. After sharing Jerry Pinkney's The Lion & The Mouse with the class, I would have the students write their versions of the story to go along with the illustrations in the book. By having the students share their work with the class, we would be able to discuss the differences in everyone's versions, and the different options available in the writing of a story. It would also serve to help the students view themselves as authors.