Lion and Mouse

Starred review from May 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-What can another version of this classic fable possibly add to the canon? When it is created by Buitrago and Yockteng, the answer is quite a bit. From the first characterizations, readers understand that this is not their grandmother's Aesop. The lion is described as "lovely...like a sun," while the mouse is "a busybody and a glutton." The vocabulary is colorful, the styling smart, reminiscent of William Steig. When the mouse overreaches in their first encounter, the lion dismisses him. The omniscient narrator explains: "'nsignificant' means being of no use or importance and is the most insulting thing you could say about a mouse." Yockteng's soft compositions are rendered in pencil and colored digitally with a subdued woodland palette of greens, browns, grays, copper, and gold. Humor and drama unfold with restraint: a single claw pressed on the tip of the tail had trapped the intruder. After the lion is ensnared by a hunter's net and freed by the mouse, the plot diverges from the original. Rain compels the lion to shelter the rodent with his paw. Fearing a never-ending cycle of favors, the mouse expresses concern, but the beast's motivation is genuine, and "that is how they began to be good to each other." Never heavy-handed, the levity expands with the friendship, as when the lion's hairy tail is draped over the mouse, creating a hilarious miniature doppelgänger, roaring at an insect. VERDICT An intelligent glimpse at how a friendship between unlikely candidates might be possible. A stellar addition for all collections.-Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2019
Buitrago and Yockteng's latest literary endeavor reconsiders a well-known Aesop fable.A lion and a mouse live in the woods among other creatures big and small. The mouse, "a busybody and a glutton," one day decides to enter the lion's home uninvited. Before the rude guest can leave, the "very lovely" lion seizes him by the tail. The lion threatens the mouse, who would rather not be eaten. (He intends on meeting his girlfriend, after all.) So, the mouse offers to repay the lion someday in exchange for his life. The lion, ever a generous host, laughs off the proposal "as only lions can" but casts the mouse out instead of eating him. Naturally, the lion must swallow his pride the next day after falling prey to a hunter's trap. At first, the lion doesn't recognize the mouse "because all mice looked alike to him" (a telling detail), but the mouse nonetheless frees the frightened feline from an unfortunate fate. Up until now, the story beats remain the same as Aesop's as Buitrago weaves this familiar tale, lacing it through with enough peculiar details to build strong personalities for the lion and the mouse. The author, however, continues the story and moves beyond the well-worn fable to ascertain how a friendship can forge itself, stemming from reciprocated kindness. Yockteng's ferocious, low-key mixed-media artwork features stunning vignettes and page-filling spreads of woodlands populated with curious creatures.A grand, morally opulent retelling with a message for our age. (Picture book. 4-7)

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