Lion & the Mouse, the (Trd)

Gentle, black-and-white pencil drawings mirror the hushed reverence of this haunting retelling of a well-known Aesop's fable. Just a few lines evoke the lion's command of his forest kingdom and build a sense of foreboding (``[The mouse] stayed, still as stone, his tiny heart beating with the memory of the lion's roar. He crouched, silent as rock, until the shadow of the lion's paw had passed''). Alternating with full-page illustrations, clusters of several small sketches focus frame by frame on one particular moment-the lion's roar, encroaching hunters or the mouse gnawing at the ropes that trap the lion. The effect is dynamic, providing the visual rhythms often missing from monochromatic art. Gossamer soft in its drawings and text, this book is nevertheless animated enough to capture the attention of the very young. All ages. (Oct.)