A Classic Mouse Story

    
      Reading Leo Lionni’s Alexander and the Wind Up Mouse is a special treat any day. This short classic brings back many of my own memories of childhood, a time when I wondered if my own animals and toys could talk. What would they have said? I can only wonder now, but the characters in this delightful story are full of deep thoughts.
     When we meet Alexander the Mouse he is feeling rejected and lonely. Then, he meets Willy the wind up mouse who is always happy because everyone loves him. As the two become friends, Alexander becomes a little envious of how the love Willy receives. He begins to want to be like Willy so much that he asks the magic lizard to turn him into a wind-up mouse. While searching for the purple pebble needed to make him a windup mouse, Alexander finds Willy in the box of toys to be thrown away. Suddenly, he finds the purple pebble and rushes to find the magic Lizard. When asked what he wants to be, Alexander no longer wants anything for himself. Instead, he thinks of his friend, Willy. After asking the magic lizard to make Willy a real mouse, he rushes off to find his friend. Will he find Willy? You’ll have to check out the book to find out.
     Though this is a picture book about mice, the characters act, think and feel as though they are human. Lionni’s brilliant collages depict the mice doing very human things such as talking and sleeping in a house. He purposely chose to write stories about human life using animals as the characters. He discusses why he chose to write animal fables in this short clip. Even more, readers can see the emotions in the eyes of the mice. Lionni’s illustrations continually advance the story. As the text tells us that Alexander goes to the garden, the illustrations take us to the garden where bold colors jump off the page. The text and the illustrations also work together to develop the heart-warming friendship between Alexander and Willie.
     The story sends a clear message about caring for our friends that even the youngest readers will understand. The story also helps us to explore the path to accepting ourselves as we are. How many of us have wished to be someone else at one point in time? How often are we amazed to discover that their lives are flawed? How encouraging it is to learn that we are great just the way we are! What a wonderful concept to explore at a young age! For adult readers, Alexander sets the bar high by choosing to save the friend of whom he was envious, but now sees as flawed! Surely, this classic transcends time and age.