The Biggest Mistake
-
- $25.99
-
- $25.99
Publisher Description
The Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year List - Under Five (2024)
A perfect storytime pick about success, failure, and the danger of assumptions.
"It's time to catch your own gazelle," Papa Lion tells his little lion one morning. The cub thinks the task will be easy—which is his first mistake. He leaps on a gazelle, but it gets away from him. So the little lion laces up his sneakers, thinking he just has to outrun the gazelle—and makes his second mistake. Once again, his prey escapes! So the little lion tries to lure the gazelle into a trap. He tries to snag its horns in a net. He even tries asking nicely. But every idea fails. Maybe the little lion needs the gazelle to make a mistake of her own…
This tongue-in-cheek tale offers a new delight on each page, then ends with the biggest surprise of all. With madcap action and colorful artwork, The Biggest Mistake is sure to spark giggles from readers of all ages.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Papa Lion decrees, "It's time for you to catch a gazelle on your own," his earnest little yellow cub readily accepts the challenge. But the cub's "mistakes"—the various ways he underestimates what it will take to catch the fleet-footed prey—keep adding up. In minimally detailed vignettes, rendered in thick outlines and uniform fill-in color, the cub can't outrun the gazelle or outsmart her (despite drawing a "cunning scheme" involving a camouflaged hole). And following an elephant auntie's suggestion—asking "Can you let me catch you, PLEASE?"—gets him nowhere. The "Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner" vibe is strong in this one, albeit minus the bodily harm (the only injury is to the cub's budding ego, especially when other gazelles gather to watch the fun). But when the cub seems to throw in the towel, it turns out that the biggest mistake isn't his, before Pintonato (Detective Mole) reveals one more trick, silly and reassuring, up her narrative sleeve. Bibo's translation strikes an arch, accessible tone, and playful typography helps those reading aloud hit all the comic beats. Ages 3–7.
