LITTLE WILD LION CUB

by Anna Michel ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1980

As in Little Wild Chimpanzee (1978) and Little Wild Elephant (1979), Michel takes one representative animal through a number of typical experiences: nursing on the mother, trotting behind her to join the pride, playing with others (and learning not to play with a father lion), following the mother to the hunt, and then trying his own skill. Much of this (perhaps all of it) comes straight from Schaller, even to the surprised look on Little Lion's face when he makes his first kill. (However, Schaller's surprised little killer was a female.) Michel translates the information into easy-readerese blandly; even the roars lack resonance. (And her statement that the father lions ""shared"" meat with the cubs--meaning, no doubt, that they allowed the cubs to fight for it--gives an unduly benign impression.) Never does the focus on one specimen result in any sense of life or individuality; and neither do the pictures.

Pub Date: April 1, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Pantheon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1980

Categories: CHILDREN'S