Book Club › For club leaders › Club kits › Lion and Mouse
Lion and Mouse: a book club kit
Where it comes from. Aesop, a storyteller in Greece, told this about 2,600 years ago.
In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). A lion naps, and a tiny mouse hops over him and wakes him up. The mouse begs to be let go and promises to help someday. The lion laughs but lets him go. Later the lion is caught in a net, and the mouse nibbles it apart.
The lesson, in one line. Even someone small can help someone big.
Reading plan. Read it together at the meeting: about 2 minutes aloud, or ahead of time at home.
Questions to talk about
- What is the moral of Lion and Mouse?
The story's answer: Small can help big. The lion laughs at the idea that a mouse could ever help him, but the mouse is the one who frees him from the net. - Who wrote Lion and Mouse?
The story's answer: It is a fable credited to Aesop, a storyteller from ancient Greece. Many writers have retold it since. - How does the mouse save the lion?
The story's answer: The lion gets stuck in a net. The mouse runs up and nibbles the net with his teeth until it falls apart. - Is Lion and Mouse a true story?
The story's answer: No. It is a fable, a short made-up story with animals that teaches a lesson. - Do you agree with the lesson? Can you think of a time it would not be true?
Listen for: Any answer with a reason is a good one; listen for a real example from their own lives. - Which animal would you rather be in this story, and why?
Listen for: Children often pick the winner; ask what the other animal could have done differently.
Did you know?
- One of Aesop's best-known fables, told in Greece about 2,600 years ago.
- The lesson is that even someone small can help someone big.
- The mouse is the hero because he can chew through the ropes of the net.
Activity: Act it out, then swap the ending
Two readers play the animals and the rest are the narrator. Then play it again where the other animal wins: what is the lesson now?
More to talk about
More facts for the leader
- This short version is written for the very first readers.
Words to teach before you start
- lion: a big cat
- mouse: a tiny pet
- net: string trap
- stuck: cannot move
- nibble: small bites
Questions leaders ask
How long does a Lion and Mouse book club meeting take?
Reading it aloud takes about 2 minutes in all, so plan one meeting of 30 to 45 minutes, with time left for the questions. The reading plan on the sheet says where to stop.
What age is Lion and Mouse for?
It is written at Peabody level 4, a grade 1 reading level, so most children at that level can read it alone. Younger children can listen to it read aloud.
Do the children need to read it before the meeting?
No. Each child can read it free on Peabody, before the meeting or together at it, and the questions work either way. The sheet's short version gives the ending away, so keep it for the leader.
How do I use the questions?
Start with the story's own questions, which have answers in the leader's notes, then move to the open ones and listen for reasons. There is no wrong answer to an open question. Stop when the group runs out of things to say.
Club kits for stories like this
- The Crow and the Pitcher (level 5)
- The Tortoise and the Hare (level 5)
- The Ant and the Grasshopper (level 7)
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf (level 7)
- The Dog in the Manger (level 7)
- The Fox and the Crow (level 7)
How this kit is made
The short version, the facts and the first questions with their answers are the story's own, written for its page in Peabody's library and checked against the sources named there. The open questions, the activity and the plan are Peabody's, written for this kind of story. No part of it is written by a computer model.
Running the meeting: the meeting plans (30, 45 and 60 minutes) and the sign-up sheet.