The Greentail Mouse

by Leo Lionni (Author)

The Greentail Mouse
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Originally published in 1973, this is the offbeat fable of a city mouse who visits his peaceful country cousins and tells them about Mardi Gras in the city. The country mice are inspired to have their own Mardi Gras. And at first it is fun wearing their masks with sharp teeth and tusks and scaring each other, but after a while they begin believing that they really are ferocious animals. 

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Publishers Weekly

A city mouse explains Mardi Gras to a group of country mice and they decide to stage their own celebration, complete with wild animal masks, in The Greentail Mouse by Leo Lionni. In a wordless spread, the artist indicates the mice's personalities transformed into the ferocious beasts with dark shades of gray and brown-a fitting juxtaposition to the holiday's otherwise festive tones.

Copyright 2002 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Kirkus

The Greentail Mouse has a simple, satisfying plot, some nicely modulated mood changes, and pictures that 'reflect and serve the story more organically than some of Lionni's more spectacular collages.

Copyright 1973 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Review quotes

"A charming fable, it deserves to take its place once again with other beloved Lionni favorites." —Children's Literature

"The art is gorgeous." —The Horn Book Magazine
Leo Lionni
LEO LIONNI wrote and illustrated more than 40 picture books, including four Caldecott Honor books--Inch by Inch, Swimmy, Frederick, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. He died in 1999 at the age of 89.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780307981516
Lexile Measure
810
Guided Reading Level
M
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date
January 20, 2013
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002180 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, etc.
JUV039000 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | General
JUV017080 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Non-Religious
Library of Congress categories
Mice

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