THE GREAT BIG LION

In this debut board book, two children discover that a scary lion just wants to make friends.

Tom and his sister, Lily, both pale-skinned, live in a village where a “Great Big Lion” roars each morning, sending the people running for shelter—everyone but the siblings. They love to hear the lion’s roar and spy on him. But one morning, the animal doesn’t appear and the siblings search everywhere for him without success. Resting by a tree, they hear a purr and learn that the lion is hiding because it seems the villagers don’t like him. He knows they are frightened, but he wishes to be friends. Hearing this, Tom and Lily give the lion a hug and he lets out a happy roar. A note explains that Knight wrote this book when she was 3 years old and, with her mother’s help, illustrated it. The story has good read-aloud potential with a giant ROAR on several pages and the use of simple phrases (“High and Low”; “Left and Right”; “Up and Down”) during the search for the lion, who is a darling. Some images, such as the lion, huts, and a tree, employ a lovely collage technique that combines rich, swirling paint and what looks like torn scraps of plain and patterned fabric. The human figures, more childishly drawn, are less skillful. In addition, it’s strange that mostly white kids reside in this village of African-looking huts and lions.

Despite a few puzzlements, a very appealing animal story.