St. Jerome and the Lion (Hardcover)

by Margaret Hodges (Author), Barry Moser (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-- As in the pre-Christian legend of Androcles, the Christian Saint Jerome, first Latin translator of the Bible, is credited with the good deed of removing a thorn from a lion's paw. Paintings throughout Christian times picture St. Jerome with the grateful lion at his feet. Hodges, using Renaissance interpretations of the legend that show the saint with a dog and donkey, as well as the lion, has shaped a story that includes all three animals. The rescued lion, set to the task of guarding the donkey, fails to keep him safe from thieves. The monks who surround the blessed saint speak out against the lion, but kindly Jerome defends him. The lion gives up his favored place in St. Jerome's study to the dog and takes on the domestic role of donkey, becoming a beast of burden. One day the thieves return with their caravan, led by the donkey. The lion is redeemed, the donkey is returned, and the wisdom of Jerome restores peace and justice to the community of men and animals. A moral tale, handsomely illustrated with Moser's dramatically highlighted, dark-shadowed watercolors, this gentle story is well suited to church libraries and to situations in which the values of trust and kindness and "innocent until proven guilty" are to be discussed. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
This medieval legend of the early monk who lived in Bethlehem and translated the Bible into Latin is such a wonderful story that it's surprising it hasn't been retold more often. Like Androcles, Jerome makes friends with a lion by removing a thorn from his paw. The lion stays on, his task to keep watch over the monastery donkey. Then the donkey disappears. The other monks think the lion has eaten it, but Jerome refuses to condemn him; instead, he asks the lion to do the donkey's work. Eventually, the lion finds the donkey and brings it home--together with the camels belonging to the merchants who stole it. The tale's essential harmony shines in Hodges's graceful narrative, Jerome's patient wisdom counterpointed by the quiet interplay among donkey, lion, and a jealous dog that also learns to accept the lion. Moser's elegant design, featuring a taste of exquisite calligraphy and austere rule in brilliant red, provides the perfect setting for his marvelously expressive watercolors: intense portraits of the contemplative saint; beautifully understated night scenes in shades of blue; the awe-inspiring lion, noble, fierce, yet tender. Luminous and altogether splendid. (Folklore/Picture book. 4+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531059383
• ISBN-13: 978-0531059388
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #423,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully-illustrated legend of St. Jerome, August 14, 2000

By	"laa-laa" (smalltown, USA) - See all my reviews

If you're lucky enough to run across this book, you'll be very happy to have it in your collection of children's books. The predominantly-dark but gorgeous illustrations are entirely in keeping with the sombre tone of the story as Margaret Hodges beautifully retells the legend of St. Jerome:

A wounded lion finds his way to the Bethehem monastery, and among the monks there only quiet, gentle Jerome is unafraid. He helps the lion and befriends him, defending his seeming unfitness for living in the monastery, telling the monks, "God must have sent the lion for our good." Falsely accused of killing the donkey under his guard, the lion is put to work performing the donkey's chores. After a year, the lion finds the donkey and brings her home to the monastery--along with the caravan of camels belonging to the merchants who had stolen the donkey. The merchants give half of their inventory of Egyptian oil to the brothers at the monastery and promise a gift of oil for the monks' lamps for posterity.

The book carries a strong message that one should reserve judgment against the accused until proof is found. It's a wonderful book and easy to read--simply written with basic vocabulary. Barry Moser's illustrations are so lovely: detailed yet lacking excessive visual distractions, and photographic in quality--watercolor pictures painted by a real artist, definitely not the cartoon-illustrations all too typical of children's books today.

St. Jerome is the monk who two thousand years ago translated the Bible into Latin, making the biblical scriptures accessible for most of the world's literate people of the time. The book is dedicated, in part, "to librarians, because Jerome is their patron saint."

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story of a Saint and His Pet Lion, November 11, 2005

By	Miryam Shoresh (Adirondack Mountains, New York) - See all my reviews

Sometimes jacket covers say it all so succinctly that it is hard not to want to copy it as your own description of the book. "A wrong is righted and an injustice forgiven in Margaret Hodge's lyrical retelling of the legend of gentle St. Jerome and the lion that was his companion. Filled with revelatory slivers of light, Barry Moser's graceful, stately paintings illuminate an incident in the life of the saint, and the ardent following he inspired." On every two open pages, one page has the text of the story while the other has a life like picture related to the story. It's about the faithfulness of a lion to St. Jerome after he took out a thorn in a lion's paw. It's also a lesson on judging others wrongly. A great story for kids.