The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks - Hardcover

Aardema, Verna

3.53

106 ratings by Goodreads

9780679869344: The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679869344 ISBN 13: 9780679869344

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1996

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Illustrated in full color. Beloved storyteller Verna Aardema is at her finest in this African animal tale, weaving charm and suspense with a delightfully satisfying resolution. Peering down from her treetop perch, a lonely lioness admires the noisily cheeping clan of Mother Ostrich and thinks, "I would be happy to have just one child." So she leaps down, gurum! and steals all four ostrich chicks. Accepting the lioness as their mother, the chicks follow right behind he. Mother Ostrich is frantic! As she chases after the lioness, she enlists the help of gazelle, hyena, jackal, and mongoose. But which one can help her to get her chicks back? With art by Yumi Heo that blends primitive, African, and folk styles, The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks is a captivating picture book destined to be a classic.

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About the Author:

Verna Aardema grew up in New Era, Michigan as the third in a family of nine children. A cedar swamp in the back of her house served as her inspiration and retreat as a young aspiring writer. At Michigan State College, Verna took many writing courses, but none that were aimed at writing for children. She didn't think about the children's book field until many years later, when she had to make up stories to get her baby daughter to eat. Verna writes mostly African folktales because of her fascination with that infinitely diverse continent. Out of its jungles, deserts, and great plains have come some of the most unusual and charming folktales in the world. As of today, Verna has published over 25 books and is still working on more. Her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and Afrikaans.

Verna lives in North Fort Myers, Florida, with her husband, Albert.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 3-When a solitary lioness decides to capture one of Mother Ostrich's chicks to keep her company, she gets more than she bargained for and ends up with all four chicks in her care. Despite their mother's pleas for their return, the little ones seem contented to follow along behind the kind and doting big cat. The distraught Mother Ostrich tries to enlist the help of first a gazelle, then a hyena, a jackal, and finally a mongoose. While the other creatures are fearful of the lioness and tread softly around her, the brazen mongoose taunts her and gets her to chase him, thus allowing Mother Ostrich to reclaim her youngsters and walk them home, "tuk-pik, tuk-pik, tuk-pik." This traditional tale of cleverness winning out over strength is retold in an understated but satisfying manner. Heo's enormously appealing, stylized artwork captures the expansiveness and colors of the sun-drenched veld and offers unusual perspectives of the animal characters, rendered in expressive cartoon style. The docile, smiling lioness shows her true colors when the mongoose insults her. Children will delight in this well-told story and will come away with the feeling that all's right with the world. A natural for reading aloud and sharing with a group.
Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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