Leo Lionni is a favorite of every librarian and school teacher who works directly with young children because his writing is simple and poetic in nature and his illustrations are a patchwork of color and design. He is a children’s poet and an artist who understands how young people visualize nature.
Worms have always been a favorite character of mine both as Russell the Rooster’s alter ego and as a symbol for a courageous life style. The inchworm in Mr. Lionni’s story “Inch by Inch,” gets into a predicament with a robin who is about to gobble him up.
“Don’t eat me, I am an inchworm! I am useful, I measure things.”
“Is that so!” said the robin. “Then measure my tail!”
Of course the inchworm does beautiful work, so the vain robin takes his new ‘associate’ to also measure the neck of the flamingo, the toucan’s beak, the legs of the heron, and the tail of the pheasant. When, however, the nightingale demands the inchworm measure his song, the clever inchworm begins the process only to travel along his new escape route until he inches out of sight.
A moral? To measure the immeasurable is a fool’s task and sometimes a strategy for escaping a fool’s errand.
Recommended for ages 2 through 7 years old for both visual content and storyline.
Mr. Lionni’s “Swimmy,” is the story about a school of little red fish that lived in a corner of the sea somewhere. One of them was as black as a mussel shell, his name was Swimmy.
As a sidenote, Mr. Lionni dedicated the book to the friend who gave Swimmy his name. When reading to children find these notes and point them out, including the names of the author and illustrator.
As the story progresses, Swimmy’s school of fish are eaten by a “swift, fierce and very hungry” big bad tuna so Swimmy is left sadly on his own. With courage and bravery “he swam out into the deep wet world” where he meets and interacts with a rainbow medusa jellyfish, a water-moving machine lobster, strange pulled-along fish, a forest of seaweed, a long-tailed eel, and pink palm tree sea anemones.
When Swimmy finds a frightened school of fish just like his own hiding in some rocks, he begs them to come out of hiding and play. They refuse at first. He teaches them how to swim like one big fish with him as the eye. Together they scare the big bad fish away.
A moral? Gather your friends and think of something before trying to take on the big boys alone. Facing the unknown with courage brings strength and wisdom even if you must go it alone.
As a visual artist Mr. Lionni was a master of many styles including glass painting, oil and watercolor painting, collage, colored pencils and more. As a storyteller we find he is a master of presenting the cyclical nature of life to young people in ways that can be savored both with the eyes and the heart.
Leo Lionni was born in Amsterdam. He has lived in Italy and New York and written and/or illustrated more than 40 children’s books over a 50 year career.
