Editorial Review

Mysteriously missing parents, a boy who speaks Cat, an extraordinary floating circus, and a handsome hoodlum villain...get ready for one of the most spectacular adventure stories around! When young Charlie Ashanti returns home one day to find an empty house, he launches immediately into the journey of a lifetime. Sleazy Rafi, a teenage boy who can usually be found lurking around the playground, shows up, claiming that Charlie’s parents have gone on a trip. Our hero plays dumb and quickly escapes Rafi’s clutches only to find himself stowed away on the most remarkable ship the Thames River has ever kept afloat. Taking advantage of his astonishing ability to speak the language of cats, Charlie sets in motion a chain of communication from London to Paris via scruffy alley toms, fluffy lap kitties, and even a ferocious lion or two. Along the way, the clever boy manages to stay one step ahead of the rogues pursuing him, but unfortunately always one step behind his parents.!Read more

Features

• Audiobook
• Unabridged

Reviews (39)

lion=interesting
this book is okay the only reason i read it was for school but then i got into it and the lions are so interesting you can't help but to get into it at times i was like what??? :/ and at times i was like yay but i didn't know it wasn't going to finish the book in the book then i was mad because they didn't finish the story this book is okay the only reason i read it was for school but then i got into it and the lions are so so interesting u can't help but to get into it at times i was like what??? :/ and at times i was like yay but i didn't know it wasn't going to finish the book in the book then i was mad because they didn't finish the story but if your willing to read 2 more books and like lions i think you should read this book

Absolutely brilliant
This book is an absolute page turner. It was so good that I read most of the book in one sitting. I highly recommend that you read this fast paced book- it's not just for kids but for adults too. I rank this book next to Phillip Pullman's book and maybe close to Harry Potter.

lionboy is very good!
Imagine your parents have been kidnapped, and you run off to the circus to try to find them with the help of the cats all around you, that you are able to communicate to. Charlie Ashanti does that in this book. In this time, many people have allergies and Charlie's parents, who are scientists, are trying to find a cure. Charlie finds that his parents have been have been kidnapped, and the teenager from down the block, Rafi, wants him to spend the week with him until Charlie's parents come back. Charlie's mother wrote something down for Charlie, and told him if he were ever to leave the house for an important reason, to take it with him. So Charlie packs a bag with the paper some lotions that his mother made to cure certain ailments, and his asthma medicine. At Rafi's house, after every one goes to bed, Charlie sneaks out and stows away on a boat. When the boat stops near a big ship blasting music, Charlie gets on the ship. The boat is a circus ship and Charlie is put to work. He has become the loin boy, and takes care of the lions. After talking to the cats on the streets, he writes and sends letters to his parents secretly. Talking to the lions, he hatches a plan to escape after the big circus show in Paris. At the show, he gets ready to leave, when he sees Rafi talking to Maccomo, the lion trainer, about selling Charlie. Charlie runs to get the lions to make their escape, but Rafi comes after them. One of the lions gives him a little snip0 to show who's boss and Rafi still slowly tries to run after them. Some lions disappear, and Charlie tries to find them. They come back to him with a weird lion-like creature with saber teeth. The lions jump on top of a train, and Charlie tries, but falls, and the engineer finds him, puts him on the train, and he falls asleep in a bed. Charlie wakes up and has breakfast and lunch with a King, who Charlie tells the whole story to, except about the cat-speaking, to the king. By now the lions on top of a moving train during a snow storm. Charlie gets the min a bathroom, feeds them, and gives them some of his mother's medicine. The king sees the lions, and agrees to help. All is well, but Charlie still hasn't found his parents. This book had a lot of action and was an overall good book.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Animals - General    3. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    4. Children's Audio - 9-12    5. Children's audiobooks    6. Children: Grades 4-6    7. Classics    8. Family - Parents    9. Fiction    10. Human-animal communication    11. Juvenile Fiction    12. Juvenile Science Fiction / Fantasy    13. Kidnapping    14. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (6)

Safari
Great book for young and old.My 6 year old loves this book.The pictures are beautiful and she enjoys learning another language.

Excellent book about Masai culture
This book starts with a story about Masai culture and also an introduction to how to say their numbers.What really fascinated me were the facts in the back.It tells you about Tanzania, the Masai culture, some words in their language and also a little about how they name their children.I love learning about African culture so I absolutely loved this book!

What a wonderful book!
We borrowed this book from the library and enjoyed it so much we bought a copy to keep. My 3 1/2 year old son loved the counting journey and learning to say all the animals and numbers in swahili. What a fun way to learn to count and speak a new language! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Concepts - Counting    6. Concepts - Counting & Numbers    7. Counting    8. Fiction    9. Jungle animals    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. People & Places - Africa    12. Safaris   

Reviews (1)

THIS BOOK IS HARD TO BEAT!
My mother gave this book to my oldest son when he was 3 and he fell in love with the story! He is now 5 and it's still his favorite book. It's a wonderful lesson about how Leo the Lion's arrogance caused him to be outcast and "dethroned" by the other animals in his "kingdom." Looking back, Leo was able to see how useless he'd been as a king because of his being so arrogant and self-centered. By helping several of the other animals when they were having difficulties, Leo was able to prove to the other animals that he had genuinely changed and become a better "person." In the end the other animals invited Leo back to be their king again. This teaches such a wonderful lesson to children and I have bought at least a dozen copies of it to give to my children's schools and for birthday gifts for their friends. I have an extensive library of books for my children, but this book is one of the very best. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 1-2    5. Children: Kindergarten    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Kings, queens, rulers, etc    9. Kings, queens, rulers, etc.    10. Laziness    11. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    12. Lions    13. Royalty (kingsqueensprincesprincessesknightsetc.)    14. Social Issues - General    15. Animal stories    16. Non-Classifiable    17. Picture books   

Reviews (3)

If you only buy one story book.......
This has been my son's favourite book since he was one. He can now make all the animal noises, loves roaring and loves the ending. It is a great book to read together as interaction comes naturally and the story is fun and not soppy. The illustrations are great while still being easilyrecogniseable. The book is also printed on nice thick glossy paper which iseasy for young ones to handle.

A Must Have!
Another outstanding, must have book by Jane Cabrera! My 2 year old and 17 month old sons just can't get enough of Rory the Lion.A fun, fast and easy read with wonderful illustrations keeps them coming back for more! My sons LOVED to roar along with Rory, as well as make all the other soundsof animals Rory encountered. This was initially recommmended to us by ourlibrary...and after checking it out time and time again I decided topurchase it and make it a permenant book in their library.It was one ofthe best book buys I ever made!

A Must Have!
Another outstanding, must have book by Jane Cabrera! My 2 year old and 17 month old sons just can't get enough of Rory the Lion.A fun, fast and easy read with wonderful illustrations keeps them coming back for more!My sons LOVED to roar along with Rory, as well as make all the other soundsof animals Rory encountered. This was initially recommmended to us by ourlibrary...and after checking it out time and time again I decided topurchase it and make it a permenant book in their library.It was one ofthe best book buys I ever made! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animal sounds    2. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    3. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    4. Children: Preschool    5. Fiction    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Lions    8. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.   

Subjects:  1. Animals - General    2. Animals - Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.    3. Children's Baby - Boardbooks    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.    7. WALL CALENDARS - CALENDARS NON BK   

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's 4-8 - Fiction - General    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children: Kindergarten    5. Classics    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Lions    9. Preschool Picture Story Books    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Friendship    12. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.   

Reviews (1)

Great Childrens Book
Beautiful illustrations and very catchy wording will keep your children involved.Great Book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Africa    3. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    4. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    5. Children: Kindergarten    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Lions    9. People & Places - United States - African-American   

Reviews (2)

Sweet Story
I keep a library of children's books that are related to dance.This one has a wonderful story line.As I share it with my granddaughters they have a place in the story and so do I.

the dancing tiger
I read this book with my Nana. We liked the book. The words are beautiful and the illustrations are wonderful. If you do another one with Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, how about doing one with a dancing princess? We think you are a wonderful writer. Someday I would like to do a book with you. ellie ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's All Ages - Fiction - General    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children: Kindergarten    5. Dance    6. Fiction    7. Imagination & Play    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Nature & the Natural World - General    10. Nature & the Natural World - Seasons    11. Performing Arts - Dance    12. Preschool Picture Story Books    13. Stories in rhyme    14. Tigers    15. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.   

Reviews (1)

Great Book for Toddlers to know about wild cats
This book contains three different stories to explain how leopards got the spots. One of them is about a leopardess would like to win in a beauty contest. She therefore tried to paint sports on her body to make her special. This book arises the curiosity of toddlers why animals have different patterns on their bodies. My 2.5 years old would ask me, " Mom, do you know why zebras got stripes? May be because...." He then thought about many reasons.Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's Baby - Education    3. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    4. Children: Preschool    5. General    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Juvenile Fiction    5. CHILD AND YOUTH FICTION    6. Cloth (rag) books    7. Juvenile Fiction / General    8. Novelty, toy & die-cut books   

Subjects:  1. Animals - Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Endangered species    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Juvenile literature    7. Science & Nature - Environmental Conservation & Protection    8. Tigers    9. Animals    10. Endangered species - Juvenile literature    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection    12. Tigers - Juvenile literature   

Reviews (4)

This Book is Fantastic!
My 17-month-old son loves this book. In fact, it is the first non-board book he has really shown interest in. He brings it to me to read several times a day. He particularly likes the pages with one word/sound (splash, yaaaaah). He thinks it is funny and likes to imitate the sounds in the book.

Tiger tiger burning bright, in the forest of the night
Before reading, "Tiger On a Tree", I hadn't really considered the American lack of children's books from India.I mean, if you stopped the average bloke on the street and asked him to name a British children's book, you'd probably get some kind of an answer.Probably Harry Potter.If you asked for an Australian children's book you'd have more difficulties but at least 1 out of 100 people might know of one.But ask someone to name an Indian children's book and all you're gonna get is blank stares.Unless you ask someone Indian, of course.Then you might learn something.And what you might learn is just how great Anushka Ravishankar's, "Tiger On a Tree" is.With very simple words, a story that's interesting while still remaining pretty darn basic, and some wildly original illustrations, "Tiger On a Tree" is bound to garner itself some enthusastic preschool fans.Especially if they've a yen for tigers.
Brilliant word/image union
Anushka Ravishankar's best known book, Tiger on a Tree, is a brilliant adventure story woven with the bold, expressive drawings of Pulak Biswas, not to mention the integrated design of Rathna Ramanathan.It shows humor and compassion, and, as with most of Ravishankar's work, has a touch of absurdity.Be sure not to miss the subtle expressions on the faces of the tiger and Indian villagers.For those who enjoy this book, I recommend Catch That Crocodile (another joint project with Pulak Biswas), as well as the many other Ravishankar works, including Excuse Me, Is This India? and Today is My Day. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Fiction    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. People & Places - Other    7. Preschool Picture Story Books    8. Stories in rhyme    9. Tigers    10. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.   

Editorial Review

In the original story by Helen Bannerman, Little Black Sambo must tread carefully, lest his clothes be stolen from him by a gang of tigers. Today, it is the teller of the tale who must tread carefully, lest the forces of political correctness attack, charging racism. Because of the names she chose for her characters, the book has become a symbol of intolerance in the century since it was written. Strip away race, however, and the tale underneath is both simple and affecting. To make it more palatable to modern readers, Julius Lester has recast the tale in a "Southern black storytelling voice." ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Nice Illustrations, But Doesn't Replace The Original In My Heart
My mother read the story of Little Black Sambo to me when I was just a little kid. Ofcourse I could not see any racism in it at that time. To me it was a book with vivid colors where I used my imagination to put myself in Sambo's place, and seeing those pancakes made out of tigers made my mouth water. I remember that as I heard my mother telling me how the tigers chased each other's tales faster and faster, in my mind there was a race going on, and I loved to hear the ending of how Little Black Sambo had been so smart and lucky, and how his parents were so proud of him. The pictures in this new book are beautifully enchanting, but the story lacks its original feel. I miss this book, and I was shocked to hear that it was considered racist. I never thought of it that way, and I'm not racist in any way, shape, or form. This new story is NOT the original and it will never replace the original one in my heart. ALSO, the original is a piece of history, and I think it is the most horrible thing we can do to ban books of any sort. I agree with the other reviewer that I will never give up my copy of the original, but if you don't have a copy of the original, then buy the new one, because the framework of the story is still there. It's one that you CAN read to your kids, which I honestly would not recommend for the original tale.

Sam and the Tigers:A New Telling of the Little Black Sambo
The new version of this story puts humor into an old story. The illustrations invite the reader to look at all the details on each page.

Sambo's Story Retold is Still Very Good
I don't want to fall victim to political correctness as I am an avid believer in free speech. However, I also don't want my young son reading the original "Little Black Sambo" until he's a bit older. Taking care that very young minds are not polluted is not censorship as far as I'm concerned. That said, this is a superb retelling of the Sambo story. Sam, who lives in the town of Sam-sam-sa-mara where everybody is named Sam, needs new clothes and now Sam is old enough to pick out his own. He picks out a red jacket, purple pants, a yellow shirt and silver shoes and to top it all off, a green umbrella. However the next day he runs into a hunger tiger on his way to school and so, like in the original story, Sam barters his clothes, piece by piece, for his life. Yes, Sam winds up in his undies, and yes he gets his clothes back and yes he gets that butter for those pancakes and yes this is a very good book for children of all ages. I promise you, your child will enjoy this one.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General    3. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    4. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    5. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    6. Children: Grades 1-2    7. Fiction    8. Humorous stories    9. Tigers    10. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Reviews (2)

Great Series!
We now have the donkey book as well as Don't Cry, Lion and we love them both.I plan on buying all 4 books of this series.They rhyme and are super fast reads, but my 1 yr old as well as my 3 yr old love them!I love the lesson in the books too.You can't get a better book, great illustrations of the characters too!

Perfect for little ones....
My son is 2 years old & loves this book!He likes lions so that initially gets his attention.The illustrations are adorable & there are just enough words on each page.The book teaches children to look to God when they need help.I love it & my son does too.I'd like to get more from this series... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Bullies    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Daniel    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Lions    9. Prayer    10. Religion - Bible - Stories    11. Religious - Christian    12. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    13. Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian    14. Picture Books    15. Religious education / world faiths   

Reviews (22)

Beautiful illustrations.
My 10 month old loves this book. We read it OVER and OVER, and he gets the biggest thrill every time I open it up. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to get some of her other books. I love her creativity.

having fun
Everybody knows the song, you can have fun by reading it with your children or students. the illustrations are great. Later they can make their own books and sing the song.

It's OK
The Good:
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Subjects:  1. Animals - InsectsSpidersetc.    2. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    4. Children's songs    5. Children: Kindergarten    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Songs    8. Songs and music    9. Spiders    10. Texts    11. Early learning / early learning concepts   

Subjects:  1. Animals - Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Juvenile literature    5. Life cycles    6. Puma    7. Pumas   

Reviews (1)

In the deep jungle of South America, you will find the jaguar! Offend him at your peril!
This book is great! Jaguars are my # 3 favorite animal of all time next to lions and tigers, and this book was really good. I liked the many facts I learned from it, and the jaguars in the photos were gorgeous. The only drawback is that the pictures were in black and white(I would have preffered color)but other than that, this is quite the marvelous book on nature in the form of the jaguar. There is a lot of interesting stuff to read in this, and you'll even see a jaguar or two swimming, mating, and rolling playfully on his/her back. If you like nature, especially the big cats, this book is for you. If you want to visit South America, read this first so you'll have fun taking pictures. Sense a trend here? I thought so. This book is very worthy of your pay. End of story. Oh, and wait till you see the cool things they do and the cute cubs. You'll smile ear to ear. Without any doubt. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.    2. Children's 9-12 - Environmental Studies    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Endangered species    6. Jaguar    7. Jaguars    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Nature - Environmental Conservation & Protection    11. Science & Nature - Environmental Conservation & Protection    12. Animals    13. Mathematics and Science   

Reviews (1)

Not a classic
I purchased this book thinking it would be along the lines of the Aesop fable. It is not. The story reads like The Little Red Hen with the lion asking who will help him remove the thorn from his paw and all the other animals replying they are too busy. The mouse does remove it in the end but that's it, No moral no comment. Not much for your child to take from this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Preschool    4. Juvenile Fiction    5. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Greek & Roman    6. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Subjects:  1. Animals - Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    4. Children: Grades 1-2    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Juvenile Science (General)    7. Science & Nature - Zoology   

Reviews (3)

Best counting and color book
I just received this book yesterday and was blown away by how wonderful it is.I guess I was expecting just another counting book.This has all the elements I was looking for.There are large numbers in the text in the same color as the animal is counting.This is just perfect for introducing numbers, colors, and even feelings.The text rhymes so it is fun to read but the rhyme is not so singsong that you feel like you need to sing it.It can be read naturally.The counting doesn't seem forced and is really just part of the story.I love that at the end of the story on a two-page spread you see all of the animals the lion cub has been attempting to play with so you can spend time spying and then counting the 4 blue lizards, etc.I highly recommend this book.Belongs in every toddler's library.

Great fun!
With a 3.5 and a 5.5 year old, I've spent a lot of time with picture books in the last few years. My favorites are those with bright pictures, great rhymes and a happy story. This one tops the list!

A roaring good time!
My one-year-old son and I roar together when we read this noisy book! The book follows a lion cub in Africa as he goes on a walk to find someone toplay with him. Of course, the other animals run away thinking he is roaringat them. Delicious alliteration adds to the fun as the cub runs intoincreasingly larger groups of animals. The illustrations using acrylics andcolored pencils give the animals wonderful faces. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - LionsTigersLeopardsetc.    2. Children's Baby - Picturebooks    3. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    4. Children: Preschool    5. Concepts - Colors    6. Concepts - Counting    7. Concepts - Counting & Numbers    8. Counting    9. Fiction    10. Jungle animals    11. Juvenile Fiction    12. Lions    13. Stories in rhyme    14. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Lions, Tigers, Leopards, etc.