  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 04/15/2016 A tiny brown mouse with large ears and a bandaged tail lives beneath a rock pillar on an African plain. Timid and easy to overlook, the mouse “got stepped on and sat on . . . . / ignored and forgotten,” until one night he gets an idea. He will learn to roar like the shouty, proud lion who resides on top of Mouse’s rock. With “a little more grrrrrrrr” in him, Mouse is sure the other animals will take notice, and maybe even be his friend. After consulting his bookshelf, Mouse realizes he needs more than a book to learn a proper roar; he must speak to the lion, face to face. Gulp! Mouse’s journey is sweet and comical by turns, with a satisfying end. Bright’s sing-song rhyme offers young readers a familiar story of courage and friendship, but Field’s illustrations are what make it worth another look. Using the browns and golds of the Serengeti, his paintings dominate each page, where the adorable, big-eared mouse will easily win over readers. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. School Library Journal - 06/01/2016 PreS-Gr 2—Field's impressive array of perspectives enhances Bright's rhyming text about a downtrodden mouse who longs to live large. Comical cartoon critters of the savanna seem sympathetic to the mouse's leonine ambitions, which lead him to request instruction from the regal roarer himself, despite the possibility of becoming a meal. Tables turn when our mouse is forced to allay the lion's fear of rodents, and the two become pals who together roar with laughter, since "We all have a mouse and a lion inside." Bright's language play ("tinyful," "tippity-toes") works well with Field's hysterical expressions and spot-on composition arrangements. VERDICT There's much to enjoy here, but the basic tale is well-worn. A solid addition for storytime sharing.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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