PPBF: A Lion in Paris

Author/Illustrator: Beatrice Alemagna [English translation by Rae Walter]
Publisher: Tate Publishing, First published in French by Autrement, 2006; Engl. edition 2014
Ages: 3-8yrs
Themes: lions, paris, statues
Opening: He was a big lion. A young, curious and lonely lion. He was bored at home on the grasslands, and so one day he set off to find a job, love and a future.
Summary: (from Amazon) “A lion … bored by his rural life in the savanna, seeks excitement and opportunity in the City of Light. Upon arriving in Paris, the lion is disappointed to find that despite his size, people barely pay attention to him, not even when he lets out a ferocious roar on the busy underground Métro”

I like this book because: of the art. Hands down. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the story, but I almost feel the words were superflous. The art is so powerful, so full of energy, whimsy and detail (deserving of the thick paper used in the making) and left me thinking about them all day. I am so glad the size (15 x 11.3 inches) is large enough to accommodate, and I wonder if the the vertical opening was necessary for the image below, but having neck and shoulder problems I would have appreciated a horizontal format (selfish!). This is a must-read for all budding artists!

Resources/activities: learn about a local statue in your town/city and it’s history; create stories for statues about how they might have found their resting spot; make pap-mâché statues after watching a tutorial – HERE.

Perfect Picture Book Friday is still on hiatus for the summer (back in 2 weeks!), but there are still plenty of selections on a themed and alphabetized list, each with teacher/parent resources, on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.