The lion and the mouse

by Jerry Pinkney

I picked this one up after it won the Caldecott award. For those readers who are not librarians or teachers, this is the American Library Association's annual award for the best illustrations in a children's book. When our copy arrived in the library, I immediately decided this retelling of Aesop's fable fit mildly into the story time theme "teeth".

Pinkney uses very few words to describe the story. He allows the images he has created do most of the work. The ferocious lion and timid mouse have faces filled with expression. When Pinkney does use words, he tailors the font to fit the emotion. At one point when the lion roars the letters start out strong and sharp then taper down to softened edges as his emotions move from angry to frightened. Even children that have never heard the story are easily able to interpret the drawings and build their narrative skills.