If I Were a Lion [Hardcover]

Sarah Weeks (Author), Heather M. Solomon (Illustrator)

Book Description

I'm sitting in the time-out chair because my mother put me there. She said, "You try my patience, child! I do not like it when you're wild."

Wild?

Who me?

That is so absurd.

How could she even use that word?

If I were a lion.

I'd growl and roar

And knock the dishes on the floor...

AND if I were a bear...

If I Were a Lion is a book for every child who's ever been sent to the time-out chair -- unjustly...or otherwise!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

How could such a sweet little red-haired girl's mother accuse her of being wild? Worse still, how could she possibly make her sit in the time-out chair? That's precisely what this little girl wonders as she sits in the chair and lets her imagination (but not her manners, no way!) run wild: "If I were a lion,/ I'd growl and roar/ and knock the dishes/ on the floor./ I'd scare the hair/ right off the cat,/ but do you see me doing that?" Heather M. Solomon, also the illustrator of Clever Beatrice, captures the wildness in the little girl's mind in fantastic watercolor and gouache paintings. In the "growl and roar" spread, a ferocious lion is standing on two legs, open-jawed, in the ultra-artsy kitchen, breaking the dishes as the little girl looks on, wide-eyed and innocent. "Wild has feathers./ Wild has scales./ Wild has whiskers, tusks, and tails," she insists, surrounded by a made-up menagerie of owls, parrots, toucans, Old World chameleons, horned toads, snakes, walruses, seals, and fish in a bucket. We all know she protests too much: the title page reveals exhibit A--a childlike lion picture scrawled on the wall and a knocked-over cereal box. (Preschool to age 6) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-When a young girl is sent to a time-out chair, she defends herself by asking, "Wild?/Who me?" With wide-eyed innocence, she proclaims: "Wild has feathers./Wild has scales./Wild has whiskers, tusks, and tails./Wild is furry./Wild is strong./Wild does not know/right from wrong." As she describes each characteristic, unruly animals take over the kitchen and living room-snorting, charging, and growling as they break dishes, overturn furniture, and create messes. The narrator seems to be surprised by their antics, but the gleam in her eye makes it obvious that she's not as innocent as she appears. So who created the havoc-the animals or this "meek and mild" child? Sharp-eyed readers will enjoy spotting the toys being blamed for the disasters; the endpapers, with numerous stuffed animals strewn haphazardly across them, provide another clue. Solomon adds to the humor by giving the youngster oversized features that make her appear cartoonlike, but with a painterly touch just shy of realistic. Splashes of salt resist on each page form a soft patterned background for the carpeting. An interesting combination of gouache brush strokes scattered over watercolor washes captures the texture of fur and feathers. Pair this book with Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (HarperCollins, 1988) for another protagonist whose imagination runs rampant when he's confined, and to create a storytime that will grab the attention of children who have been placed in a time-out.-Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (February 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689848366
• ISBN-13: 978-0689848360
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #612,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Weeks is the author of Oggie Cooder, So B. It, Jumping the Scratch, and the Guy series. She lives in New York City, where she practices charving at least once a fortnight.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I ... Were the King...of the Forest!!!,, April 2, 2005

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If I Were a Lion (Hardcover)

After our young hero knocks her lasagna dinner on the floor, her mother sends her to the proverbial corner time-out chair for being "wild." The little redhead protests, all big-eyed and incredulous:

"Wild? Who me? That's so absurd. How could she even use that word?"

And to prove herself innocent of this outrageous charge, she fantasizes what she would do if she were REALLY wild. She trots outs a series of hypotheticals in a defense worthy of Louis Nizer or Perry Mason:

If I were a lion,
I'd growl and I'd roar
And knock the dishes on the floor.

I'd scare the hair
right off the cat,
but do you see me
doing that?

No, in fact, we don't! Case closed? Not yet, for we see that her imagination running wild (in some of the best illustrations of the year). There's a large tawny lion with a reddish mane (that suggests blood), standing and roaring in the kitchen amid smashed dishes and one terribly frightened cat! On the next page, she explains that, were she guilty, were she really wild, she'd be a ferocious bear: "I'd scratch and poke and pierce and tear, not sit here nicely in my chair." Dynamic, richly detailed pictures of other wild animals accompanying some clever poetic arguments serve to further her case.

This funny and entertaining book gently recognizes how difficult it can be to take responsibility, and the imaginative lengths to which kids (and many adults) will go to find a convincing alibi. As stated above, the pictures are simply outstanding; Heather Solomon gets the most out of the popular watercolor/gouache format. Her very expressive pictures have compositional and textural strength--she does wonders with rhino hide. Sarah Weeks' story captures resentful imagination very well, but also shows its transient nature. The girl's thoughts stray from wild animals to tamer ones (e.g. an owl, a bunny, reptiles, and even lambs) in a psychological statement that we have both angry and tender thoughts. Week's poetry has a very inventive style, with a hint of Tin Pan Alley in one series: "Mother doesn't realize/that lions don't apologize/ But when she does, then she will see, the opposite of wild...is me." I recommend this exceptional book very highly; it's one of the year's best.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my gosh is this a cute book!, April 15, 2005

By 

Mother Hen - See all my reviews

This review is from: If I Were a Lion (Hardcover)

A chubby-cheeked, big-eyed cutie directly addresses the reader, seeking to defend herself after her mommy gives her a time out. Her explanation reveals a vivid imagination that turns her playroom stuffed animals into real wild animals that come alive to wreak hypothetical chaos.

I have to say that one of the things I like best about the illustrations is that her contemporary playroom actually looks like my kids' playroom, crammed with legos, doll house, barbies, baby dolls, etc. I cringe that my kids may get ideas about drawing on the walls from this story, but this is too cute a book to let that get in the way of enjoying it.

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm sitting in my time out chair, because my mother put me there!, May 1, 2010

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If I Were a Lion (Hardcover)

Don't you just love it? She's not there because she misbehaved, oh no! She's not WILD. That's so absurd! Her mother has clearly lost it, because THIS little girl is not ferocious. THIS little girl does not bite. Oh, NO.

It's so true to how kids (and, frankly, many grown-ups) think. Even though she does calm down and apologize in the end, we're never told what she did wrong, exactly.

Some of the rhymes and scansion is a bit forced, but I like this book well enough anyway.