Lion Children [Hardcover]

Angus McNeice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2001

Emily (16), Travers (10), Angus (9), Maisie (7) and Oakley (1) lived in an idyllic 300-year-old cottage in the Cotswolds. They attended the local school, watched TV and did all the things English middle-class children do. Then, in 1995, their biologist mother seized the opportunity to study lions in Botswana and, in the space of 3 months, changed the family's lives forever. Within 24 hours of landing in Gaborone they were travelling to their new home at Maun in the Okavango Delta, one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth. Weeks after arriving, the children had made home in an old mission house full of stray dogs and were learning to fetch fresh water, dig a toilet and which creepy crawlies could kill you and which couldn't. Their classroom was an open hut and free days were spent in a Land Rover tracking prides of lions across hundreds of miles of bush. The Lion Children is an extraordinary life-enhancing story about the joy of childhood and living in an environment as different as it can be. But above all it is about the lions, who we get to know through the eyes of the children themselves. This story will capture the public's heart and imagination. It is illustrated with the children's own drawings and photographs taken over the 5 years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating read, the book, also contains a marvellous set of colour photographs of the family and some of the lions they met." Animal Antics "a different and delightful take on living in Africa." Traveller Magazine, 1 April 2003 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

The children's father is TV and film actor Ian McNeice, whose films include Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls, A life Less Ordinary and Funny Bones and many TV series including Longitude, Dune, David Copperfield and Hornblower. Their mother Kate is one of the world's leading researchers in lion behaviour. The children's Father is Ian McNeice the TV and film actor. He has appeared in major Hollywood films including Ace Ventural When Nature Calls, A life Less Ordinary and Funny Bones and many TV series including Londitude, Dune, David Copperfeild and Hornblower. Their mother Kate is an ex actress who is now one of the world's leading researchers in lion behaviour.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (September 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752841602
• ISBN-13: 978-0752841601
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Travel > Africa > Botswana

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Educational, July 31, 2005

By 

Georgia Duff "Musical Theater Afficionado" (CC, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lion Children (Paperback)

This is a terrific book, and perfect for the family who has always wondered what it would be like to uproot themselves and move to an underdeveloped and primitive culture. That is exactly what the McNeice children did when their mother decided to leave England and relocate in Botwana. Their experiences are told with honesty, sensitivity and intelligence, as well as much humor. I found this book to be delightful and inspiring....a perfect read for the young and old alike.
My family and I had the opportunity to meet and have dinner with the lion children's mother and stepfather, Pieter Kat, a well known researcher of lions, while on Safari in the Okavango Delta in 2002. The book had just been published and I purchased two copies, one for myself and one to donate to our school library. I highly recommend you do the same. You won't be sorry, and when you are finished reading their stories, you will have gained a greater appreciation of children's insights and adaptabilities, as well as lions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible book, September 20, 2008

By 

Sarah Buer (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lion Children (Paperback)

I read this book from cover to cover the day I got it...It is an astounding compilation of anecdotal stories and details from the McNeice family's exotic and adventurous life in the bush. The children are as honest about their insecurites and fears as they are about their strengths and discoveries, which lends the writing a humanity and richness absent from works by more "mature" authors.

I marvelled at the bravery and adaptiveness of these children, and reading their beautiful stories made me question the legitimacy of the rules governing my own rigid and conventional suburban life. Throughout this book, the McNeice family demonstrates that living life guided by curiosity and passion need not be merely an impractical dream...indeed, it is their
reality, and if we are strong enough and courageous enough, it can be ours too.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read, June 24, 2010

By 

C. Beaton (Eureka, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lion Children (Paperback)

This incredible book was recommended by the evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, as a must read. This book is written entirely by 3 teenage children who have been raised in Africa studying lions and educated by their amazing mother. Highly recommended.