Funny, fresh and very modern, this update on the fable of the lion and the mouse is a marvelous tale of a relationship between two unlikely friends.

One day, the mouse marches into the lion's den without an invitation. Before the lion can eat him for breakfast, the mouse begs for mercy. "If you let me go, I might be able to return the favor." The lion laughs at the idea of such a small, insignificant creature helping him out ... until the next day when the mouse frees the lion from a hunter's trap.

Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng, one of the great creative teams in picture books, have fun in this simple and never-didactic story about how it's possible to get along through negotiation, acceptance and learning to put up with a friend's eccentricities. You can be good to one another not because you expect anything in return but just because you are friends.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2
>With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.9
Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.

REVIEW COPIES:

• Publishers Weekly
• School Library Journal
• Booklist
• Kirkus Reviews
• Horn Book

About the Author
Author JAIRO BUITRAGO has collaborated with Rafael Yockteng on several picture books, including Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews), Walk with Me (three starred reviews), Lion and Mouse (two starred reviews) and Wounded Falcons (two starred reviews and named a USBBY Outstanding International Book). Jairo has also won the Hispanoamericano Castillo prize for children's literature and the Antonio Garcia Cubas Award. He lives in Mexico City, Mexico. RAFAEL YOCKTENG has illustrated many highly acclaimed children's books, including Afterward, Everything was Different: A Tale From the Pleistocene; Wounded Falcons (two starred reviews and named a USBBY Outstanding International Book); Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews); Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews); and Walk with Me (three starred reviews) by Jairo Buitrago. Rafael's books have been included on IBBY's Honor List, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. He lives in Bogota, Colombia. ELISA AMADO is a Guatemalan-born author and translator. She has written My Friend (Mi amiga), illustrated by Alfonso Ruano; Un Barrilete para el Dia de los Muertos / Barrilete: A Kite for the Day of the Dead; Cousins (Primas), illustrated by Luis Garay; and Tricycle (El triciclo), illustrated by Alfonso Ruano, which is on the Americas Award Commended List and is a USBBY Outstanding International Book. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews
An intelligent glimpse at how a friendship between unlikely candidates might be possible. A stellar addition for all collections. * School Library Journal *
Jairo Buitrago's retelling of the classic fable "The Lion and the Mouse" is likely to have early readers giggling with glee. . . . The entertaining text and superb illustrations combine to spark new life in this old tale of kindness, compassion and friendship. * Shelf Awareness *
A grand, morally opulent retelling with a message for our age. * Kirkus Reviews *


Awards
Commended for School Library Journal Best Picture Books 2019 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9781773062242
Author Jairo Buitrago
Format Hardback
Page Count 32
Imprint Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada
Publisher Groundwood Books Ltd ,Canada
Weight(grams) 358g
Dimensions(mm) 219mm * 219mm * 10mm