School Library Journal Review
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. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With his bright saucer eyes and huge winglike ears, Mouse looks like he wouldn't fade into any background. And yet, "He got stepped on and sat on./ He missed out on stuff./ Ignored and forgotten.../ his mouse life was tough." Watching how the "shouty and proud" Lion dominates, Mouse decides that he needs to add a roar to his repertoire, and he risks being eaten to offer himself up as a pupil to Lion. But Mouse soon discovers that having a big roar isn't synonymous with having a perfect, fearless life. Bright (the Love Monster books) seems to leave no self-help bromide unturned ("It felt like the scariest thing he could do.../ But if you want things to change, you first have to change you"). But Field (Frog on a Log?) is in top form, offering so many imaginative framings (several spreads contain multiple vignettes, each one a winner) and irreverent characterizations (Lion is a Miles Gloriosus with a mane) that readers will feel carried along by his visual and comedic generosity. Ages 3-5. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.