King Lion

King Lion is about a lonely lion that despairs when no one will be his friend. He acts out in his sadness until a little girl who also is lonely understands what he is going through. Together he learns how to be a friend and has more success. This is an unexpectedly deep theme on how those who act out might not be doing it because they are bad, but because they don’t know any better how to get their needs met. With so many preschool and young elementary navigating friendships for the first time, this is a fantastic way to help them be brave enough to reach out. The font used in the book is half print and half cursive making it a difficult visual for beginning readers but fine for adult read-alouds. The illustrations use many dark colors to emphasize the loneliness and dark mood the lion is experiencing and then becomes brighter as things improve. Overall, this is a thoughtful book with a deep message about giving others a chance.

King Lion is about a lion who is seeking a friend but he only knows how to communicate by roaring. Unfortunately, everyone runs away from him so he climbs to the top of a tower and roars all night and day. This continues until a little girl hears him and tries to communicate with him since she might be able to understand. 

What I Liked: I appreciate the message of this story and how hard the lion struggles to communicate with others at the story's start. I loved that the only time he could communicate with someone was this young child who just seemed to get him and wasn’t afraid of him like others were. This child takes the time to try and communicate with him and understand him and this makes the lion happy. I loved that this book shows the importance of communication and how people may have different communication styles and it just takes time to learn someone else’s style. 

I liked the art style of this book and how the lion shifts in his looks as people’s perception of him changes. I liked how simple each page was and how easy it was to follow along with the images and the story. 

What Left Me Wanting More: I loved this story but did find it hard to read at times due to the font style and color of the font being used. The font seemed to change throughout each page and some words were hard to read. The style of font sometimes blended in with the background and due to the colors, it was hard to read when in low light. 

Final Verdict: King Lion is a fun story to read with children to show them how communication styles vary and how certain ways of communication may not get them what they need. This is a cute, silly, fun book that shows how courage can help others and how important it is to meet others where they are.