We Are Lions!

Starred review from April 28, 2023

Gr 1-4-Two young biracial boys, one with black hair, one with brown, both with tan skin, roar in Lucander's eccentric illustrations, hunting gazelles and wildebeests on the savanna in a playful but committed nod to imagination. Dad Wildebeest and Mom Gazelle (he is Asian, she cues white) chill out nearby in an ordinary domestic non-savanna setting, and the boys take a break. Narrated by the younger boy, the story advances and the older boy takes ill, and has to see a doctor. Strictly from a preschooler's frustrated point of view as his fellow lion goes to the hospital and is no longer available to play, the boy tells of one last chase through the hospital, terrorizing all the other patients with their game, and that's when it feels as if the illustrations take over. The brother, losing his hair, is a bedridden shadow hooked up to tubes; the parents are quaking messes with the inevitability of likely terminal illness of their child. This shattering picture book is practical and elevating in equal measure-"We are lions," the older boy whispers at the last, a small piece of hope that readers certainly need. Unsparing as the book is, educators will want to weave it into units on compassion and SEL, or where a classmate has gone missing. VERDICT A book to be shared rather than handed over, and be ready for discussion. It's as unflinching as a child's questions, and brutally compelling.-Kimberly Olson Fakih

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2023
Two siblings must learn to be fierce in the face of a frightening new foe. A boy and his little sibling (who narrates this story) love pretending to be lions--they roar and hunt and stalk the savanna. Until one day, big brother lion does not feel well and has to go to the doctor. Big brother must go to the hospital, where he looks like a caged lion surrounded by tubes and equipment. His mane begins to fall out, and he misses his pride. Playing at being lions helps the younger sibling grapple with their elder brother's serious illness as patients in hospital hallways are, through the magic of imagination, transformed into the beasts of sub-Saharan Africa. In Lucander's chaotic illustrations, dramatic overhead angles brilliantly evoke the turmoil this family confronts; in many scenes, objects are askew, and the parents look drawn and worried. Collage art brings to life the siblings' vivid imagination as they race into the savanna to escape their troubles. Unsentimental yet brimming with emotion, Mattsson's matter-of-fact text, translated from Swedish, makes the idea of childhood illness somehow more comprehensible to both adults and kids. While the story ends with the older sibling still sick in bed, it ends on a note of hope: "Soon we'll go hunting again." The siblings and their father are tan-skinned; their mother is lighter-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Inspired and sensitive storytelling that will help little ones make sense of a potentially disturbing topic. (Picture book. 4-8)

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