Lion's Lunch? Book

Sarah is strolling through the jungle, singing a happy song, when Lion pounces. How dare she trespass on his turf? He is King of the Jungle—where nobody strolls and sings: They lumber and grunt, sprint and squeak, slither and harrumph! Lion makes an executive decision to eat the little girl for lunch. But Sarah thinks fast: True, she can't wallow like the hippo or wriggle like the snake, but she can draw. She paints a portrait of Lion. "I don't look that grumpy!" he protests. "Yes, you do!" all the animals chorus. Soon Sarah is the jungle's artist-in-residence!

In the tradition of Aesop's classic fable about the lion and the mouse, LION'S LUNCH? is the tale of a little girl who thinks fast on her feet to get herself off the menu! With a gentle message about the difference between being a good boss—and just being bossy. Plus fabulous depictions of an entire menagerie—parrots, crocodiles, porcupines, antelopes, zebras, monkeys, leopards, frogs—by Margaret Chamberlain, illustrator of PINK!

Publishers Weekly

Not only is the lion Sarah encounters in the jungle big and fierce, he's articulate, too. When she pleads that she was just taking a walk, Lion growls, “Nobody here just walks! We run, sprint, prowl, creep, swing, lumber, slither, swoop, gallop, and scuttle.” When it looks like Sarah might become Lion's main course, she keeps her cool, noting that she does have one talent that the animals don't—drawing. When she draws Lion with jagged fur and bared teeth, the other animals sense an ally, and speak truth to power: “You're bad-tempered and bossy,” they tell him. Tierney's (Peek at the Week at the Zoo) characterization of Lion founders at this point, as he backs right down and abandons his verbal fireworks for pap. “I don't like the way I look,” he says. “Sarah, I wish I could change.” Chamberlain (Pink!) renders the jungle animals in digitally colored and enhanced pen and ink, with wiggly, uneven outlines and coy, sideways gazes. They keep Sarah company while she draws and clamor to walk her home, providing a charming antidote to Lion's saccharine conversion. Ages 3–6. (Jan.)