A Roar to Read About

August 21, 2025 By Maria

Most people, including myself, think it’s normal for a kid to cuddle with a toy teddy bear, which is essentially a fierce predator. When my daughter was a toddler, her favorite stuffy was a teddy bear named “Bear-Bear”. Bear-Bear is still sought out for cuddles at bedtime but now is called “Bearby.” My oldest son’s favorite cuddly animals are all dangerous predators – from a python to a T-Rex to a shark – they’re all lined up on his bed. We know that a lion is a fierce predator. Do our kids always see lions as fierce predators? I’m not sure, but I do know that kids love reading stories about animals, predators included. Lions are common in children’s literature. Think of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz or Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia to name a couple. I’d like to share a few of our favorite lion picture books. Hopefully, you will find a hidden gem or two. 

How to Hide a Lion by Helen Stephens is both completely unrealistic and thoroughly cute. I wouldn’t put it past my daughter to try and hide an animal like this one day. The story may be a sweet fictitious tale but the emotions the characters go through are very real. My husband and I both enjoyed this book. We love how the little girl treats finding a lion in her backyard so casually. It made me think of when my sister was little and she would sincerely claim that she would go to Africa and cuddle lions one day. My daughter has absolutely no fear of large dogs. She will bravely walk up to a St. Bernard, whose large head is higher than hers, and confidently ask permission to pet him. It’s so comical in this story how Iris hides the lion in plain sight from her parents throughout the illustrations. It is a very happy moment when these two friends finally reunite after their painful separation. 

A merciful moment starts the well-known Aesop Fable of the lion and the mouse. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney is an almost wordless retelling of this fable. I love Pinkney’s artwork. I was saddened to hear of his passing in 2021. The watercolor illustrations are beautiful and realistic with lots of charm and character. I love how we follow the mouse around and see the world from her viewpoint in the beginning of the book. I heard Kate DiCamillo, the author of Because of Winn-Dixie, say in a podcast interview that children really emphasize with mice since they also feel small and vulnerable like the mice. Don’t we all at times? This story is communicated very well without words. This book was especially fun to read when my kids were very small. They were engaged with exploring the pictures and asking me to narrate the goings on. 

Exploring the details hiding in the borders of the pictures, always make a Jan Brett book fun and engaging. Honey, Honey Lion!: A Story from Africa by Jan Brett is a fun trickster story. As I may have mentioned in a previous post. My oldest son loves trickster stories. I think all kids do for the most part. But there are few now and then that really do not like the concept of one character tricking another. The greedy honey badger in this story is tricked by the unhappy honeyguide after he refuses to share the honey they found together. My kids felt certain that the badger would never be selfish again after the honeyguide’s trick. I see how the honeyguide helped teach him responsibility. I hope he feels gratitude for the lesson, but I wonder if he will have trust issues.

Like most of Jon Agee’s books, Lion Lessons is a great one for laughs. The boy in the story goes to lion “school” to be an officially licensed lion. What ensues is a hilarious list of tasks the lion gives him. The boy fails miserably at most tasks but finally succeeds to put all his skills together and earn his certification. The best reading of this book I have ever witnessed was when I walked in on my husband reading it aloud and then instructing the kids in the lion lessons. There were tiny roaring and pouncing people all over the living room. Silly and fun, that moment became a great memory.

From silly and fun to loyal and strong, lions in literature are a roar to read about. These books offer us opportunities to have discussions about mercy and fairness and just enjoy a laugh. After reading these books, would you want to cuddle with a lion?