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Who's Got Game? The Lion or the Mouse?
In this charmingly subversive reinterpretation of a classic tale, the Morrisons and Pascal Lemaitre take a hilarious look at bullying.The cocky lion, the self-proclaimed "baddest in the land," believes himself invincible until he gets a thorn stuck in his paw. Only a weak little mouse can help him, but then the lion must indulge the mouse's ridiculous pride and appetite for power.
We, the creators of "Who's Got Game?," were inspired by the wonder of Aesop's Fables -- their vitality, their endless demand for new interpretations. In our versions the original stories are opened and their moralistic endings reimagined: the victim might not lose; the timid gets a chance to become strong; the foool can gain insight; the powerful may lose their grip. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. More than a play on these beloved fables, "Who's Got Game?" is AESOP LIVE
ALL AGES
We, the creators of "Who's Got Game?," were inspired by the wonder of Aesop's Fables -- their vitality, their endless demand for new interpretations. In our versions the original stories are opened and their moralistic endings reimagined: the victim might not lose; the timid gets a chance to become strong; the foool can gain insight; the powerful may lose their grip. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. More than a play on these beloved fables, "Who's Got Game?" is AESOP LIVE
ALL AGES
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Toni Morrison
242 books24.4k followersChloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 with a B.A. in English. Morrison earned a master's degree in American Literature from Cornell University in 1955. In 1957 she returned to Howard University, was married, and had two children before divorcing in 1964. Morrison became the first black female editor for fiction at Random House in New York City in the late 1960s. She developed her own reputation as an author in the 1970s and '80s. Her novel Beloved was made into a film in 1998. Morrison's works are praised for addressing the harsh consequences of racism in the United States and the Black American experience.
The National Endowment for the Humanities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities, in 1996. She was honored with the National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters the same year. President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 29, 2012. She received the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction in 2016. Morrison was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.
Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 with a B.A. in English. Morrison earned a master's degree in American Literature from Cornell University in 1955. In 1957 she returned to Howard University, was married, and had two children before divorcing in 1964. Morrison became the first black female editor for fiction at Random House in New York City in the late 1960s. She developed her own reputation as an author in the 1970s and '80s. Her novel Beloved was made into a film in 1998. Morrison's works are praised for addressing the harsh consequences of racism in the United States and the Black American experience.
The National Endowment for the Humanities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities, in 1996. She was honored with the National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters the same year. President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 29, 2012. She received the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction in 2016. Morrison was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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November 2, 2017Summary
This graphic novel is based off of the Aesop fable, The Mouse and Lion. However, this one has a bit of a twist. Rather than pinning the lion as the primary bad guy and the mouse as the feeble hero, this story turns the tables. The lion begins as the bad guy as usual, but the mouse has a desire for power and then turns into the villain by pretending to be the lion.
Evaluation
Honestly, this book was very odd. The graphics would attract young readers but they may lose the moral in the story due to the odd manner of the material.
Teaching Point
This would be a great book to teach students about illustrations. We could picture walk in the book without reading to see if we can tell the story without reading. Each student can write on a sticky note what they think is happening on each page and stick it on the page. After going through the picture walk, we will compare our "story" to the author's. For independent practice we will have our own comic strip without words to share with a friend. We will have them write our story and see how it compared to what our intention was.
This graphic novel is based off of the Aesop fable, The Mouse and Lion. However, this one has a bit of a twist. Rather than pinning the lion as the primary bad guy and the mouse as the feeble hero, this story turns the tables. The lion begins as the bad guy as usual, but the mouse has a desire for power and then turns into the villain by pretending to be the lion.
Evaluation
Honestly, this book was very odd. The graphics would attract young readers but they may lose the moral in the story due to the odd manner of the material.
Teaching Point
This would be a great book to teach students about illustrations. We could picture walk in the book without reading to see if we can tell the story without reading. Each student can write on a sticky note what they think is happening on each page and stick it on the page. After going through the picture walk, we will compare our "story" to the author's. For independent practice we will have our own comic strip without words to share with a friend. We will have them write our story and see how it compared to what our intention was.
December 7, 2020
I'm not sure what I think about this book. It's a take on a fable, but they've changed the ending. I actually wasn't super impressed with the execution of the book. The text is printed in a handwriting font which can be difficult to read. Some of the text rhymes and some of it does and it is a little jarring reading between the two sections. At the end of the book, the mouse -- who is the hero in the original story -- has become the villain. I read it to the children and they also didn't know what to think.
October 27, 2023
Look at that fake orange hair on the mouse. Remind you of anyone? I read this in A Toni Morrison Treasury: .
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August 30, 2019Fiction M8812L 2003
October 23, 2019
It's a cute children's story. I found the vocabulary footnotes odd but they can just be ignored.
August 5, 2021
Cute retelling. Did not see that ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2021
So cute! So engaging and interesting. Loved it!
August 31, 2012
I loved this version of the Lion and the Mouse fable! The twists that the Morrison mother-son team (yes, THAT Toni Morrison)provide by couching the are brilliant.story within a bullying theme are brilliant.
The lion's dialogue is in block-letter printing which adds to the personification of his ROAR. When the animal characters speak they do so in an effective rhythmic rhyme while the narrated action is in prose. Both forms of the text flow effortlessly and the illustrations here are a perfect complement: fun and cartoonish.
Rather than focusing on the qualities of mercy, kindness and the "don't judge someone by their size" (dimunitive stature of Mouse)idea of the original fable, this version allows the Lion insight into his own and Mouse's flaws. Rescued from the thorn in his paw by the tiny Mouse, the Lion gives his word to be friends forever. He has seen the error of his bullying, boastful ways. Mouse, however, is emboldened by his ability to help the Lion and abuses the Lion's commitment of friendship, oblivious to the fact that true friendship is not one-sided.
Mouse's inability to believe in and trust himself to proudly be who he is meant to be is his true undoing. He does not, however, possess the insight to recognize it--even when the Lion, honoring his side of the friendship, tries to explain it to him. Accepting what he cannot change, Lion actually leaves his own home to escape Mouse's insecurities and overblown attempts to compensate for it.
The last lines of the book belong to Lion and they are phenomenal:
This one is well worth the read and would be a great read-aloud at home or in a classroom.
*It is important to note that in this book as well as the other in this series, the text (with the exception of the Lion's dialogue) is written in cursive that will be unreadable independently for young children.
The lion's dialogue is in block-letter printing which adds to the personification of his ROAR. When the animal characters speak they do so in an effective rhythmic rhyme while the narrated action is in prose. Both forms of the text flow effortlessly and the illustrations here are a perfect complement: fun and cartoonish.
Rather than focusing on the qualities of mercy, kindness and the "don't judge someone by their size" (dimunitive stature of Mouse)idea of the original fable, this version allows the Lion insight into his own and Mouse's flaws. Rescued from the thorn in his paw by the tiny Mouse, the Lion gives his word to be friends forever. He has seen the error of his bullying, boastful ways. Mouse, however, is emboldened by his ability to help the Lion and abuses the Lion's commitment of friendship, oblivious to the fact that true friendship is not one-sided.
Mouse's inability to believe in and trust himself to proudly be who he is meant to be is his true undoing. He does not, however, possess the insight to recognize it--even when the Lion, honoring his side of the friendship, tries to explain it to him. Accepting what he cannot change, Lion actually leaves his own home to escape Mouse's insecurities and overblown attempts to compensate for it.
The last lines of the book belong to Lion and they are phenomenal:
But strong or weak, big or small, a giant or an elf...
Is he who wants to be a bully just scared to be himself?
This one is well worth the read and would be a great read-aloud at home or in a classroom.
*It is important to note that in this book as well as the other in this series, the text (with the exception of the Lion's dialogue) is written in cursive that will be unreadable independently for young children.
March 7, 2010
To be honest, I don't know how to appreciate childrens' books anymore. How do you judge a book? This one had a moral of the story. I think childrens' books are the deepest of all. Parsimonious wisdom only children can understand.
It was an okay allegory.
What I took home with me, not in original wording:
This Lion is loud, crude and a big bully, because he was ashamed, or wanted to hide his true self.
So when he abdicated his throne to the little mouse, he was shedding his status, self created. To indicate that his real self was not filled with so much hooha and bravado. Because the little mouse saved him, he was much humbled.
But then the little mouse was caught up in the illusion of the hero, transmuted from the lion. He thought he must be greater than the lion since he saved him. Yet no one took him seriously because of his small, meek stature. So he played dress up, dressed like the lion. Yet he still didnt receive the respect he wanted.
The book taught that status and a bullying front are meaningless covers. The lion knew that in his direst time of need, those of whom he ruled or lorded over did noting to save his skin. Status and outward power doesnt mean love. Thats why he gave up the throne to the little mouse, who still has much to learn.
The moral of the story is to be yourself, and to love yourself, no matter how you look. And this is directd at the little mousie who wanted to be what he wasn't. And he can fool only himself regarding that. . . .
Hmm, I think I like it afterall. Childrens' books do have morals of the story.
It was an okay allegory.
What I took home with me, not in original wording:
This Lion is loud, crude and a big bully, because he was ashamed, or wanted to hide his true self.
So when he abdicated his throne to the little mouse, he was shedding his status, self created. To indicate that his real self was not filled with so much hooha and bravado. Because the little mouse saved him, he was much humbled.
But then the little mouse was caught up in the illusion of the hero, transmuted from the lion. He thought he must be greater than the lion since he saved him. Yet no one took him seriously because of his small, meek stature. So he played dress up, dressed like the lion. Yet he still didnt receive the respect he wanted.
The book taught that status and a bullying front are meaningless covers. The lion knew that in his direst time of need, those of whom he ruled or lorded over did noting to save his skin. Status and outward power doesnt mean love. Thats why he gave up the throne to the little mouse, who still has much to learn.
The moral of the story is to be yourself, and to love yourself, no matter how you look. And this is directd at the little mousie who wanted to be what he wasn't. And he can fool only himself regarding that. . . .
Hmm, I think I like it afterall. Childrens' books do have morals of the story.
March 17, 2008
another really stupid children's book.
November 22, 2010
Comic book set up/illustrations. long for a read aloud in one setting. Good book for predicting. You could cut this reading in half and have a journal writing=g on it.
April 5, 2012
A wonderfully modernized version of a classic fable that teaches humility is a valuable characteristic.
October 15, 2015
I really enjoyed this retelling of Aesop's fable. The illustrations were delightful. I will definitely have to remember to use this one in storytime sometime soon.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews