FICTION

A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals

by Lucy Ruth CUMMINS
illus. by Lucy Ruth Cummins. 40p. S. & S./Atheneum. Mar. 2016. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781481448895; ebk. $10.99. ISBN 9781481448901.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—With its macabre humor and delightfully scribbly illustrations, this tale is sure to delight a wide audience of children. Using a metafiction style, the author starts the book with "Once upon a time, there was a hungry lion, a penguin, a turtle, a brown mouse, those two rabbits, etc.," but must stop and repeatedly revise the list as the bevy of animals slowly dwindle to one smugly grinning lion and "that turtle." With several surprises, and some truly extraordinary full-page illustrations, this story winds itself to a laugh-out-loud ending that will tickle the unconventional funny bone.
VERDICT Highly recommended for any library, sure to be a favorite read-aloud.
Reviewed by Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA
Animals disappear one by one, except for a hungry lion. They reappear at a surprise party, but the tables turn--again (and again)--until ultimately one unexpected survivor remains. All the carnage (both real and assumed) takes place off-page, potentially furthering confusion caused by the story's many twists. Illustrations in brush marker, gouache, graphite, colored pencil, and charcoal playfully contrast with the macabre undertones.
 , Mar 01, 2016

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