Little Leo by Farnaz Esnaashari, illustrated by Hedvig Haggman-Sund. Aladdin, 9781534446106, 2020
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4
Genre: Fantasy
What did you like about the book? Little Leo, a lion cub, sees some antelope jumping along the river bank while on a walk with his mother. He decides that he, too, can jump just as well as they do. He proceeds to attempt to jump up on a large rock ledge. He misses, and his mother encourages him to try again, he misses. He grows discouraged, but his mom helps him until he can complete his task. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, with large cartoon eyes and sweet smiles on all the animal’s faces (even the antelope). There is a lot of movement in the illustrations and the reader can feel Leo trying to take his jump and fall and then finally succeed.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No
To whom would you recommend this book? This is a fun book about perseverance. It is short and expressive, so it would make a fun story hour book for preschools and public libraries.
Who should buy this book? Day-care, preschools, public libraries
Where would you shelve it? Picture books
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Lindsey Hughes, Marstons Mills Public Library, Marstons Mills, MA
Date of review: 3/30/2021
Youth Services Book Review 
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