Lion and Mouse — Jairo Buitrago

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.