Name: Tollison_Michealend
Date:3/4/2013
Book Critique: The Lion & the MouseI.
APA citation of the book: Pinkney, J., & Aesop. (2009). The lion & the mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers.
II.Summary: The Lion and The Mouse is an award winning richly illustrated non verbal, picture book, (except for a couple of noises) by Jerry Pinkney. The story depicts the kindness of the great king of the jungle, the lion, when he shows mercy to a mouse meant for his dinner. The story is told through pictures with only an occasional word like the hoot of an owl which is not necessary for the story plot, but will bring young readers into the story all the more. After letting the mouse go some time later hunters arrive and trap the great lion, king of the jungle. The lion has now found himself in a position that threatens his life. The very mouse he had spared, remembering the lion’s kindness by sparing his life, brings a whole family of mice to the rescue of the lion. They chew through the ropes all through the night and day releasing the lion before the hunters could return and take him away. The end shows the lion allowing the mice to ride on his back proclaiming to all the animals that the mice are his friends and should be left alone. The book shows that acts of kindness are always rewarded in the end.
III.Critique: The vibrant water colors used by Jerry Pinkney in the retelling of the Aesop’s fable the mouse and the lion are superb. The brushstrokes apply color to the page that makes the viewer believe music is being heard they are so richly illustrated. The rendition of the African Serengeti leads the reader through pages with so much color and contrasts that although there are few words the story line can be followed easily and the reader is pulled into the story. The coloring is so well done that the reader understands the story and the meaning without words. The reader is invited into the story with the beautifully drawn illustrations and held captive by the telling of the story. The illustrations show the vastness of the Serengeti with renderings of the animals that populate the area. Elephants, done in grey’s, Lions, done in various browns and tans, the Mice, in shades of grey with pink ears, Giraffes, done in orange and browns, the Owls, screeching through the air,Name: Tollison_Michealend Date:3/4/2013and other creatures are introduced through drawings that lead the reader tobelieve that is what the animal would look like had they never seen one. Theexpressions of the animals are so realistic, yet done in picture form, as toinsure the reader knows exactly what the animal is thinking. Mr. Pinkney isable to create the entire story with these pictures from his imagination. Mr.Pinkney has successfully rendered the story adaptation in a manner thatenlightens and entertains the young children to which the book is intended.The children will love the settings and the colors throught the book willattract even very young children. The reader is invited to tell the story in hisown words since there are so few words actually written in the book. Eventhough the words are few the story line can be easily followed by just thepictures. The pictures allow the imagination of the reader to sustain the storyin their own manner. Children and adults alike can enjoy and recognize thetalent Mr. Pinkney bestows upon the reader throughout the book.
IV. About the Author: Mr. Pinkney is an American author and illustrator livingin New York with his wife and four children. Mr. Pinkneyhas over time hasbeen awarded numerous awards for his books. According to penguin booksnewsletter, he has been awarded four New York Best Times Best IllustratedAwards, five Caldecott Honor Awards, and five Coretta Scott King Awards.He also has to his credit: a Regina Medal, four gold and four silver medalsfrom Society of Illustrations and numerous and various otheracknowledgements and awards. Mr. Pinkney stated in his youtube video thatThe Lion and the mouse did not start out to be just a picture book. Mr.Pinkney stated he started with the watercolor and color pencil rendition ofthe book and then once it was finished he saw that the book told the storywithout adding additional wording. He realized that the story was alreadytold through the pictures. Mr. Pinkney’s works span multicultural barriersalthough many are set in the Africa Serengeti and yet all of the works arefable based and render a subdued message or lesson of some around goodworks verses bad deeds. Mr. Pinkney states he is a storyteller at heart andstarts all his work with thumbnail sketches of the story he is working on atthe time. He gets so involved with his work that he wishes the phone wouldnot ring while he working as does most artists during their work time. Mr.Pinkney is also a successful artist with pictures in the Museum of theName: Tollison_Michealend Date:3/4/2013National Center of Afro-American Artists to the Art institute of Chicargo. Illustrations have also been rendered for National Geographic, US Postal Service, National Park Service and many others according to Mr. Pinkney’s webpage. Truly a well rounded and accomplished artist. Seeing the world through Mr. Pinkney’s eyes is an enlightening and illuminating experience every viewer of his work can appreciate and enjoy. The work speaks to the viewer in a profound manner only he can render. It is a shame not everyone in the world can experience the dynamic’s this artist has to offer.
V. What the Literature Says: The reviews of Mr. Pinkney’s works are very favorable. Many seem to think one reviewer writing a positive review would give a positive review again and Mr. Pinkney’s case that seems to ring true. Mr. Pinkney is an extremely talented story teller through his brightly colored illustrations, his depiction’s brilliant and worthy of all the positive reviews. He has in fact illustrated over a hundred books according to his webpage. Since Mr. Pinkley is now in his seventies and has been illustrating books since the sixties he has proven worthy of the awards and achievements he has earned over that period of time and of course all of the positive reviews. Mr. Pinkney is a man whose illustration talent is so vast and impressive that the world rarely finds the like. Mr. Pinkley has such a trained eye and imagination in the rendering of his illustrations that although drawn the viewer has no trouble relating to what he is observing. Reviewers seem to give this author praise no matter what he puts his brush to. Professional reviewers seem to admire Mr. Pinkney’s work and find the illustrations charming and worth admiration and positive review. The assessments of the reviewers that were reviewed were extremely positive. Although there are surely reviews to the negative regarding this illustrator, because someone always has a negative note to say, however none were uncovered during this research. This reviewer fully agrees with the positive reviews Mr. Pinkney has received during his professional career.
VI. Review Citation: Reviews received from: http://clcd.odyssi.com.logon.lynx.lib.usm.edu., http://www.nytimes.com/ , http://www.amazon.comName: Tollison_Michealend Date:3/4/2013VII. Target Audience & Age: The target audience of the book The Lion and the mouse would be birth to elementary school, although adults can appreciate the quality of the illustrations and should be exposed to the book as well.VIII. References:Pinkney, J., & Aesop. (2009). The lion & the mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iptWPwWbwgMhttp://www.us.penguingroup.com/http://clcd.odyssi.com.logon.lynx.lib.usm.edu.http://www.nytimes.com/http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/