Bookverdict.com

Gr 1–4—A girl invites an imaginary lion, a metaphor for her missing father, to accompany her on her long walk home. Along the way, she must pick up her baby brother from child care and purchase groceries, and when they arrive home, she prepares dinner before her mother returns from the factory. The illustrations are all full-bleed spreads. Sketched in pencil, scanned, and then redrawn and colored digitally, they depict a run-down neighborhood, with buildings in disrepair and clothing drying on a rooftop ne...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

The book opens with an image of a young girl and a huge lion standing on a grassy hill, with a city skyline far behind them. The young girl offers the lion a flower and asks it to "keep [her] company on the way home." Their journey is both mundane and dramatic, depending on whether you read the text or look at the pictures. Buitrago's (Jimmy the Greatest, rev. 7/12) words tell a simple story of a young girl walking home from school, shopping for food, making dinner, and going to sleep. Yockteng's...Log In or Sign Up to Read More