Reviews: (by author)

(2 Reviews)

Lionni, Leo. Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse. New York: Knopf, 1969. ISBN 0-394-80914-9. $16.95. Ages 4-8.

Caldecott Honor Book.

Poor Alexander the mouse spends his life running from mousetraps and brooms. Alexander’s predicament becomes even more unbearable when he compares his life to that of his newfound friend Willy, a wind-up mouse. While Alexander must hide from humans who detest him, Willy enjoys the pampered life of a beloved toy. Alexander finds Willy’s life so enviable that he is unable to see any downside to being a wind-up toy. One day, Willie tells Alexander about a lizard with an ability to change one animal into another. Alexander’s only thought is to become a wind-up like Willy. When Alexander discovers Willy in a box to be thrown away, however, he finally sees the disadvantage to being a toy. Willy cannot escape his fate, needing humans to wind him up. So when Alexander goes back to the lizard, rather than ask to become a wind-up, he wishes for Willy to be turned into a real mouse. The wish is granted, and Alexander and Willy now have the best of both worlds—freedom and friendship.

This is another classic story by the acclaimed author Leo Lionni, who produced over forty children’s books during his prolific career. Like many of Lionni’s books, Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse is a simple fable that is a delight to read. While this book contains important messages about friendship and self-discovery, Lionni’s tone never turns didactic. Since its publication in 1969, Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse has enjoyed enormous popularity, and it is easy to see why. Great characters involved in situations children can relate to, combined with colorful collage illustrations, make this book a wonderful addition to a child’s collection.

Highly recommended.

Kira Hall, June 2007

Lionni, Leo. Fish Is Fish. New York : Random House Children's Books, 1998. ISBN0-394-80440-6

Some old books deserve new consideration; such is the case with Leo Lionni's Fish Is Fish, published in 1970. After thirty-five years, it's still a swimmingly good story of friends, change, and growth. A tadpole and a minnow are born in the same pond, and there become fast friends. Naturally, the frog starts to grow legs and feels drawn to land; he leaves the fish in the pond. When the frog returns, extolling the extraordinary things "he discovered on land," the fish tries to envision this other world. With the frog again leaving, the fish decides not to dream of land, but to throw himself out of the pond into the dry world. Unfortunately, the fish can't breathe. But his friend, with great difficulty, shoves him back into the water. Wisely now, the fish appreciates the beauty of the pond; he acknowledges the aptness of the frog's observation: "Frogs are frogs and fish is fish and that's that." So fish and readers learn that friends can remain friends even if they live in different worlds.
Lionni delights our vision, using delicate watercolors with pencil for the pond scenes. The upper third of the page presents the written text and the land above the water, and the lower two-thirds reveal the watery underworld. As the frog tells of the wonders on land--birds, cows, and people, the fish envisions them as bright fish with extra features: birds look like fish with wings; cows look like fish with horns and udders; and people look like fish walking on their tails and wearing bright clothes. This picture book certainly meets the test of time.

Toni Rowden, January 2006

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