Picture Books on Saturday

"Jumping Mouse," written by a gay man, John Steptoe, is like a picture-book version of "The Odyssey."

A mouse dreams of seeing the world from the tops of various mountains. This seems impossible, but a magical frog gives him powerful "jumper" legs. So he makes some progress.

Briefly, he spends time with a fat, lazy rat; the rat is waiting to die. The rat suggests that a nearby snake may be a threat--"but he can't swim, he can't cross the stream, so we should be fine." Having crossed the stream by means of a log-bridge, the snake kills the rat. The mouse is cunning and hungry for life; he escapes.

Next, the mouse encounters a bison who has lost his hearing; the mouse "donates" his ears to the bison. In turn, the bison allows the mouse to walk in various bison-shadows; the shadows disguise the mouse so that he is safe from birds of prey.

The end of the tale is surprising and moving; it makes me think of "The Yellow Bus," a current blue-ribbon picture book that is dominating display tables in several stores. I wonder if Loren Long has studied Steptoe's work.

I wish that Steptoe had lived longer. I think he understood what makes a good story, and I'm amazed by his sketches.

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