Product Description

Deep in the African heartland Way out on the hot sunny plains, There lived a small lion who didn't fit in And Leo was this lion's name. All Leo wants is to love and hug his fellow lions, but his mother tells him that if he can't learn to hunt he has no place in the pride. So Leo is all alone...until out in the wide world he meets lots of animals who appreciate his help. Soon he has a whole pride of his own, made up of all his friends. Even the other lions appreciate Leo's love in the end. This funny, touching rhyming text is wonderfully brought to life by Hugh Laurie with accompanying jungle music and sound effects.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10262 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Synopsis
Deep in the African heartland Way out on the hot sunny plains, There lived a small lion who didn't fit in And Leo was this lion's name. All Leo wants is to love and hug his fellow lions, but his mother tells him that if he can't learn to hunt he has no place in the pride. So Leo is all alone...until out in the wide world he meets lots of animals who appreciate his help. Soon he has a whole pride of his own, made up of all his friends. Even the other lions appreciate Leo's love in the end. This funny, touching rhyming text is wonderfully brought to life by Hugh Laurie with accompanying jungle music and sound effects.

About the Author
David Wojtowycz `or simply David W to his friends` was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. He inherits his unusual second name from his Ukranian-born father. David went to Goldsmiths College, University of London to study fine art and graduated in 1992. David`s distinctive style is instantly recognisable due largely to his popular greeting card range, Pigs Might Fly `Statics` and more recently, Flux Deluxe `Santoro Graphics`. It was while David was working with Statics that he met Giles Andreae, alias Purple Ronnie, and this led to their collaboration on their first book for Orchard Rumble in the Jungle, \n \nDavid lives in South London. Giles Andreae is the award-winning and bestselling author of Rumble in the Jungle, Giraffes Can`t Dance and The Lion Who Wanted to Love. Giles is also the creator and voice behind Purple Ronnie. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Love is actually all around
This book is about a lion named Leo who didn't fit in with his pride, because he just wanted to look for love and make friends with other animals in the jungle. After he was forced to leave the pride of lions, Leo did his best to help every kind of animal in the jungle, but never asked for a thing. Eventually, he became the king of animals in a different way.
The lovely colorful cover of this book will catch your eye in the bookshop. The illustrations are animated and charming as if you were in tropical Africa. From the illustrations page by page, Leo's enthusiasm and kindness are obviously an important part of the whole story. And the most brilliant drawing is the one in which Leo's friends arrive at the bank and link themselves up tail to paw to rescue him. How smart this is!
However, in this book the thing which really moves me is the moral of the story. By means of the plot, Leo's unique way of thinking and his brave deeds deserve much praise. Although he didn't identify with his pride at first, he still knew what he really wanted. Most of the time we are taught that we are supposed to do something in a particular way. If you can't get your own convictions accepted, you will follow common concepts to live your life. Nevertheless, the ending of this book offers us a distinct way of thinking, showing us we can be what we want to be, and understand the most valuable gift in the world is love. As long as we can open our minds to accept the world, we will find much love, and we can make any dreams come true, even if they are achieved in a more difficult way.
This excellent book is worth reading as a bed-time story.

And the moral of the story is....
My 7 year old son introduced me to this story.
He produced it at bed time for me to read to my 4 children - 9, 7, and twins 5.
The poem was so fluid and easy to read. The moral story of Love and courage, shareing and careing was so beautifully told that i was quite moved by the end.
A delightful book to be read again and again by all ages!

A book adults will enjoy reading to children
I love this book as much as my three year old son. The illustrations are beautiful and so colourful and the words and story are lovely.It also conveys a good message/philosophy. We were bought this as a gift and we now give it where we can.