Authors: Kate Dicamillo.
Paperback, 128 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Publication Date: 2002-07-01


Reviews :

    The National Book Award finalist from the best-selling author of BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE - now in paperback

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger - a real-life, very large tiger - pacing back and forth in a cage. What’s more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things - like memories, and heartaches, and tigers - can’t be locked up forever....

    Kate DiCamillo's first novel Because of Winn-Dixie won a Newbery Honor in 2000 for the no-nonsense charm and wisdom of its down-home young heroine, Opal. Also set in Florida, The Tiger Rising is more of a short story in scope, the tale of 12-year-old Rob Horton who finds a caged tiger in the woods behind the Kentucky Star Motel where he lives with his dad. The tiger is so incongruous in this setting, Rob views the apparition as some sort of magic trick. Indeed, the tiger triggers all sorts of magic in Rob's life--for one thing, it takes his mind off his recently deceased mother and the itchy red blisters on his legs that the wise motel housekeeper, Willie May, says is a manifestation of the sadness that Rob keeps "down low."

Something else for Rob to think about is Sistine (as in the chapel), a new city girl with fierce black eyes who challenges him to be honest with her and himself. Spurred by the tiger, events collide to break Rob out of his silent introspection, to form a new friendship with Sistine, a new understanding with his father, and most important, to lighten his heart. This novel is about cages--the consequences of escape as well as imprisonment. The story and symbolism are clear as a bell, and the emotions ring true. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson...

Authors:
Hardcover, 12 pages
Publisher: Little Simon
Publication Date: 2006-10-24
Edition: Pop

Reviews :

    In this stunning retelling of a phenomenal classic, honor is tested, battles of good over evil are waged, and the importance of family reigns supreme. True to Rudyard Kipling's original story, tree branches literally draw the reader in to this tale of Mowgli the Man Cub exploring the ruins of the Lost City, riding atop thundering elephants, and facing a fierce tiger attack! A must-have for every family's library, this epic pop-up adventure features paper engineering as intricate and magical as the very laws of the jungle....

Authors: Michelle Knudsen.
Hardcover, 48 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Publication Date: 2006-07-25


Reviews :

    Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. There aren’t any rules about lions in the library. And, as it turns out, this lion seems very well suited to library visiting. His big feet are quiet on the library floor. He makes a comfy backrest for the children at story hour. And he never roars in the library, at least not anymore. But when something terrible happens, the lion quickly comes to the rescue in the only way he knows how....

Authors: Shel Silverstein.
Hardcover, 112 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 1963-01-06
Edition: 40 Anv

Reviews :

    "You don't have to shoot me," says the young lion. "I will be your rug and I will lie in front of your fireplace and I won't move a muscle and you can sit on me and toast all the marshmallows you want. I love marshmallows."

But the hunter will not listen to reason, so what is there for a young lion to do? After eating up the hunter, Lafcadio takes the gun home and practices and practices until he becomes the world's greatest sharp-shooter.

Now dressed in starched collars and fancy suits, and enjoying all the marshmallows he wants, Lafcadio is pampered and admired wherever he goes. But is a famous, successful, and admired lion a happy lion? Or is he a lion at all?

Told and drawn with wit and gusto, Shel Silverstein's modern fable speaks not only to children but to us all! 

...

    First published in 1963, the late Shel Silverstein's children's book debut Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back, will resonate with young readers much as it did 40 years ago. The affable narrator Uncle Shelby's story begins: "Once there was a young lion and his name was--well, I don't really know what his name was because he lived in the jungle with a lot of other lions and if he did have a name it certainly wasn't a name like Joe or Ernie or anything like that." That all changes, however, when a circus man discovers the lion's skills as a marksman (the lion took a gun from a hunter he ate) and names him Lafcadio the Great. When the circus man takes Lafcadio to New York City, the story takes on a certain Crocodile Dundee quality--the lion eats the menu at a fancy restaurant, demands marshmallows (he likes the sound of them), and is captivated by the hotel elevator. As Lafcadio becomes more civilized and rich and famous, however, he becomes more unhappy. In the end, to entertain the increasingly despondent star, the circus man takes Lafcadio hunting in Africa where he encounters his old lion friends on the other end of his gun. Is Lafcadio now a man or is he a lion? He decides he is neither and wanders alone into the valley. In typical Silverstein style, this exuberantly-silly-yet-poignant fable, illustrated with simple, expressive line drawings, asks more questions than it answers. The glee the author derives from wordplay and the sound of language is positively contagious. This read-aloud classic belongs on every child's bookshelf. (Ages 6 to 10) --Karin Snelson...

Authors: Dr. Seuss.
Hardcover, 72 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1969-09-12


Reviews :

    Illus. in full color. The Cat in the Hat tells us three zany stories-in-verse about his son, his daughter, and his great-great-grandfather. ...

Authors: Inc. Penton Overseas.
Hardcover, 128 pages
Publisher: Hinkler Books (AU)
Publication Date: 2004-04


Reviews :

    This beautifully presented Disney treasury features 4 stories, complete with a read-along CD. Choose from four tales of favorite Disney adventures! Includes: The Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story....

Authors: Robert Kraus.
Paperback, 32 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 1994-03-30


Reviews :

    Leo isn’t reading, or writing, or drawing, or even speaking, and his father is concerned. But Leo’s mother isn’t. She knows her son will do all those things, and more, when he’s ready. ‘Reassuring for other late bloomers, this book is illustrated with beguiling pictures.’—Saturday Review.

...

Authors: Fiona Watt.
Board book, 10 pages
Publisher: E.D.C. Publishing
Publication Date: 2002-01


Reviews :

    The imaginative use of textures in this series of bright, chunky board books adds a delightful dimension to sharing books with babies and toddlers. As each page is turned, a different texture is waiting to be discovered. Bold and simple illustrations add to each title's appeal, and ensure children will want to return to these books again and again....

Authors: Disney.
Hardcover, 24 pages
Publisher: Golden/Disney
Publication Date: 2003-09-09


Reviews :

    Disney’s The Lion King, an exciting tale of a young cub who earns his place in the Circle of Life, is retold in the classic Little Golden Book format....

Authors: Golden Books.
Hardcover, 24 pages
Publisher: Golden Books
Publication Date: 2001-07-15
Edition: 1